A Study to Tailor Advance Directives

NCT ID: NCT00121004

Last Updated: 2013-09-05

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

100 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2005-07-31

Study Completion Date

2005-09-30

Brief Summary

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In this study, hospitalized patients will first be surveyed regarding their interest in a traditional advanced directive (AD) and then in a modified AD.

Detailed Description

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The purpose of this study is to assess whether patients will execute an advance directive which offers a limited trial of life-sustaining therapy in non-terminal illness, declines life-sustaining therapy or artificial nutrition in advanced dementia, or declines life-sustaining therapy in general. Advance directives (ADs) as currently drafted have been questioned since they have not had much effect on end-of-life care. However, the reason for the lack of success may be simply that they rarely apply. Traditional ADs, which are limited to terminal illness or persistent vegetative states, are difficult to apply to the more common cases of critical illness in the setting of potentially reversible disease and advanced dementia, which are often not recognized as terminal. In addition, terminal ADs are drafted too narrowly for patients who do not wish for life-sustaining therapy regardless of condition.

Patients may execute either AD at the conclusion of the survey. This research has the potential to demonstrate widely reproducible methods on which more precise advance planning can be based and thereby improve end-of-life care.

Conditions

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Dementia Persistent Vegetative State Terminally Ill

Keywords

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Advance Directive Living Will Terminal Illness

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

COHORT

Study Time Perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Interventions

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Advance Directive Selection

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Hospitalized patients admitted to the general medical service at the University of Chicago
* Previously enrolled in a study of hospitalized general medicine patients at the University of Chicago

Exclusion Criteria

* Patients who score less than 17 out of 30 on the Folstein Mini-Mental Status Examination or who have a proxy decision-maker
* Patients who are medically unstable based on two or more abnormal vital signs
* Patients who face a possible new diagnosis of cancer
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Chicago

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Elmer Abbo, M.D., Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Chicago

David Meltzer, M.D., Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Chicago

Locations

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The University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Other Identifiers

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13787A

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id