Volandes, Angelo E., Mitchell, Susan L., Gillick, Muriel R., Chang, Yuchiao, Paasche-Orlow, Michael K.

Introduction: When patients are unable to make important end-of-life decisions, doctors ask surrogate decision makers to provide insight into patients’ preferences. Unfortunately, multiple studies have shown that surrogates’ knowledge of patient preferences is poor. We hypothesized that a video decision tool would improve concordance between patients and their surrogates for end-of-life preferences.; Objective: To compare […]

van der Steen, Jenny T., van Soest-Poortvliet, Mirjam C., Gijsberts, Marie-José H. E., Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D., Achterberg, Wilco P., Ribbe, Miel W., Deliens, Luc, de Vet, Henrica C. W.

Objective: To analyse possible trends in families’ evaluations of the quality of end-of-life care and the quality of dying in dementia.; Design: Analysis of individual patient data from 3 studies (2 solely retrospective (after death) and 1 partly prospective).; Method: We combined data on 372 residents with dementia from 38 nursing homes and 13 residential […]

van der Steen, Jenny T., Albers, Gwenda, Licht-Strunk, Els, Muller, Martien T., Ribbe, Miel W.

Background: The clinical impact of risk score use in end-of-life settings is unknown, with reports limited to technical properties.; Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study to evaluate clinical impact of a validated mortality risk score aimed at informing prognosis and supporting clinicians in decision-making in dementia patients with pneumonia. We performed a trial (n = […]

Teno, Joan M., Mitchell, Susan L., Kuo, Sylvia K., Gozalo, Pedro L., Rhodes, Ramona L., Lima, Julie C., Mor, Vincent

Objectives: To examine family member’s perceptions of decision-making and outcomes of feeding tubes.; Design: Mortality follow-back survey. Sample weights were used to account for oversampling and survey design. A multivariate model examined the association between feeding tube use and overall quality of care rating regarding the last week of life.; Setting: Nursing homes, hospitals, and […]

Reinhardt, Joann P., Chichin, Eileen, Posner, Laurie, Kassabian, Simon

Family members of persons with advanced dementia may be asked to make complex treatment decisions without having adequate knowledge regarding the risks and benefits. This 6-month, prospective, randomized trial tested the effect of an intervention consisting of a face-to-face, structured conversation about end-of-life care options with family members of nursing home residents with advanced dementia. […]

Ikegami, Naoki, Ikezaki, Sumie

Objectives: To describe end-of-life care in Japanese nursing homes by comparing facility and characteristics of residents dying in nursing homes with those who had been transferred and had died in hospitals, and by comparing the quality of end-of-life care with hospitals and with their respective counterparts in the United States.; Setting: National sample of 653 […]

Gallagher, Maribeth

The ongoing extension of the average human lifespan in most parts of the world forecasts an unprecedented number of aging adults developing Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, commonly referred to as agitated behaviours, are estimated to occur in over 80% of patients and are typically treated using antipsychotic medications, […]