Advance care planning at life milestones

•Normalize advance care planning (ACP) discussions•ACP discussions are best begun in early adulthood•Consider revisiting discussions each adult milestone or life changing event•Don't delay ACP until hospitalization, an accident, or a catastrophic illness Much progress has been made in advance c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nursing outlook 2022-05, Vol.70 (3), p.451-457
Main Authors: Ludwick, Ruth, Bakerjian, Deb, Zalon, Margarete L., Melander, Sheila D., Crist, Janice D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advance care planning, Advance directives, Consensus, Life milestones, Nursing
Policy
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Summary:•Normalize advance care planning (ACP) discussions•ACP discussions are best begun in early adulthood•Consider revisiting discussions each adult milestone or life changing event•Don't delay ACP until hospitalization, an accident, or a catastrophic illness Much progress has been made in advance care planning (ACP), especially related to end of life and palliative care. These advances have moved thinking about ACP from a checklist approach to an upstream recognition that ACP is an iterative process that should begin early in adulthood and be revisited with each milestone or life-changing event. It is recognized that there are many stages and milestones in adult life that contribute to changing loci of responsibility and life goals. These changes impact how individuals view their lives, the complexity of health care, and the myriad of health conditions they may encounter. ACP discussions should routinely be started and reexamined at the time of key life events like starting a career or a marriage and not delayed until hospitalization, the occurrence of a serious accident, or the development of a catastrophic illness.
ISSN:0029-6554
1528-3968
DOI:10.1016/j.outlook.2022.02.011