The perception and attitudes of Israeli cancer patients regarding advance care planning

Objectives: Advance care planning (ACP) allows patients to acknowledge and document their preferences regard-ing end-of-life care and to ensure their fulfilment. Several factors were found to be related to patients' motivation regarding this process, such as their fear of being a burden on family members; however, the completion rate of the ACP forms is partial. The current study aimed to evaluate the barriers and motives among Israeli cancer pa-tients regarding ACP, including many older adults. Setting and measurements: Advanced cancer patients participated in the study. All completed an initial question-naire to evaluate their basic knowledge regarding the issue. Participants who agreed to talk with a social worker completed a semi open-ended questionnaire which investigated their main motives and barriers regarding the issue. Results: Most of the patients who completed the ACP forms were older and had lung cancer. They mentioned in-formation and open communication with family and staff members as the main enabling factors. Their main mo-tives were to ensure that the best medical decisions would be made and to avoid unnecessary medical procedures. The main reasons for not completing the forms was no close relative who would agree to take the responsibility as well as timing. Most of the participants did not hear about the issue from sources outside the oncology division. Conclusions: Despite several limitations, the current findings may have important implications regarding ways to establish a more suitable ACP process, adjusted to older patients' needs. This may assist in promoting patients' cooperation with ACP and its implementation in the medical system, including older adults. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.