Incompetent terminal patients’ key carers expectations

Effective palliative and hospice care highlights meeting patients multidimensional needs through adequate communication among multidisciplinary palliative care team the ill person and his/her family or proxies. For patients who lack capacity for communication their wishes at the end-of-life, advance care planning allows to express their preferences in advance, taking into account for example medical care, place of staying, nursing assistance and spiritual care. Little research has evaluated the public request for advance directives, especially among patients’ carers, deeply engaged in caring. Fifty six terminal cancer patients’ key carers were randomly recruited to an interview using the adapted Polish version of the American questionnaire the “Five Wishes” living will. Data obtained from 50 patients (on average employed women over 30 years old and believers) revealed: 1) substantial burden of carrying for the ill person, 2) the need of patients’ preferences recognition according to various specific therapeutic activities, 3) the expectation of respecting their own end-of-life preferences for the future, 4) the need to choose the lasting power of attorney recognized by the law system, 5) the expectation of the living wills better regulations. Knowledge and legally binding documentation of end-of-life preferences may facilitate and improve quality and satisfaction with palliative care for incompetent patients.