TY - JOUR
T1 - Knowledge, Opinion, and Attitude About the Italian Law on Advance Directives: A Population-Based Survey
AU - De Panfilis, Ludovica
AU - Rossi, Paolo Giorgi
AU - Mazzini, Elisa
AU - Pistolesi, Luca
AU - Ghirotto, Luca
AU - Noto, Antonio
AU - Cuocolo, Sandra
AU - Costantini, Massimo
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are grateful to Jacqueline M. Costa for the English language editing. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. There are no conflicts of interest to declare.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11
Y1 - 2020/11
N2 - Context: Advance directives are legal documents which individuals draw up to declare their treatment preferences and to appoint well-informed proxies to safeguard patient autonomy in critical situations when that individual is temporarily or no longer able to communicate these preferences. On December 22, 2017, the Italian Parliament approved the first law on end of life (“Provisions for informed consent and advance directives” L.219/2017), after a heated public and political debate lasting almost 20 years. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the awareness, knowledge, opinions, and attitudes regarding Italian Law 219/2017 and advance directives among the Italian population 15 months after its entry into force. Methods: A nationwide population-based survey was conducted by a certified public opinion survey company. A sample size of 2000 interviews was planned. A structured questionnaire was developed to investigate awareness, opinions, and attitudes concerning the law by a multiprofessional research team. The agreed-on version was pretested on a sample of 70 selected participants. Results: The sample included 2000 valid interviews; 70.1% of respondents declared they had heard about the law on informed consent and advance directives. Respondents were asked to express their overall opinion on the law's utility and importance: 88% declared that the law was quite or very important and 76% had a positive attitude toward making/registering advance directives. Conclusion: The principles of Italian Law 219/2017 are aligned with the ethical sentiment of the vast majority of the Italian population. It is crucial to stimulate discussion to increase knowledge and awareness to increase the number of advance directives.
AB - Context: Advance directives are legal documents which individuals draw up to declare their treatment preferences and to appoint well-informed proxies to safeguard patient autonomy in critical situations when that individual is temporarily or no longer able to communicate these preferences. On December 22, 2017, the Italian Parliament approved the first law on end of life (“Provisions for informed consent and advance directives” L.219/2017), after a heated public and political debate lasting almost 20 years. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the awareness, knowledge, opinions, and attitudes regarding Italian Law 219/2017 and advance directives among the Italian population 15 months after its entry into force. Methods: A nationwide population-based survey was conducted by a certified public opinion survey company. A sample size of 2000 interviews was planned. A structured questionnaire was developed to investigate awareness, opinions, and attitudes concerning the law by a multiprofessional research team. The agreed-on version was pretested on a sample of 70 selected participants. Results: The sample included 2000 valid interviews; 70.1% of respondents declared they had heard about the law on informed consent and advance directives. Respondents were asked to express their overall opinion on the law's utility and importance: 88% declared that the law was quite or very important and 76% had a positive attitude toward making/registering advance directives. Conclusion: The principles of Italian Law 219/2017 are aligned with the ethical sentiment of the vast majority of the Italian population. It is crucial to stimulate discussion to increase knowledge and awareness to increase the number of advance directives.
KW - Advance directives
KW - ethics
KW - informed consent
KW - survey
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.06.020
DO - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.06.020
M3 - Article
C2 - 32619672
AN - SCOPUS:85088375995
VL - 60
SP - 906-914.e4
JO - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
JF - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
SN - 0885-3924
IS - 5
ER -