Advance Directives for Health Care among Older Community Residents

Abstract

Advance directives (ADs) for healthcare are useful planning tools for older people. In addition, the utilization of ADs is important for health and human services planners, administrators, and policy makers to understand because whether or not people have an AD, and what types of ADs they have can dramatically influence the treatment trajectories and the well-being of older people who can longer make decisions for themselves. Using telephone survey data with a random sample of Oklahoma residents age 60 and older, we examined the prevalence of four measures of AD use. Prior to the implementation of this survey in 2002, the Oklahoma Aging Services Division was very active in promoting two types of AD—the living will and the durable power of attorney for healthcare. More than half of those interviewed had a living will, two-fifths had a durable power of attorney for healthcare, and one-third had both ADs. Older age and higher levels of education were consistently associated with having ADs.