Nurses’ Advance Care Planning Communication: An Investigation

This article presents a descriptive study about nurses’ (N = 74) advance directive communication practices with hospitalized older patients. The research surveyed advance directive communication practices by using a self-administered questionnaire. Advance directive communication was measured with 7 subscales: initiation of the topic, disclosure of information, identification of a surrogate decision maker, discussion of treatment options, elicitation of patient values, interaction with family members, and collaboration with other health care professionals. Results suggest that nurses’ communication regarding advance directives reflects a broader process of advance care planning and that age, years of experience, and personal experience with advance directives are associated with communication practices.