skip to page content
Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website
Publication Briefs

Study Shows More than One-Quarter of Elderly Individuals Require Surrogate Decision-Making Near the End of Life


FINDINGS:

  • Of the 3746 elderly adults (non-Veterans) in this study, 26.8% required decision-making at the end of life and lacked decision-making capacity. Thus, surrogate decision-making was often required.
  • Of those requiring surrogate decision-making, 67.6% had advance directives.
  • Individuals who authored advance directives received care that was strongly associated with their preferences. And those who requested all care possible were far more likely to receive aggressive care compared to those who did not request it.
  • Individuals with advance directives preferred limited (92.7%) and comfort care (96.1%) more than all care possible (1.9%).
  • Cognitive impairment, cerebrovascular disease, and nursing home status were associated with the need for decision-making and lost decision-making capacity before death; but these characteristics were so common (present in 65.3% of the study population) as to not be clinically useful risk factors.

BACKGROUND:
Currently, up to 70% of community-dwelling older adults have completed an advance directive detailing their preferences for life-sustaining treatment (via a living will) and/or their choice for a surrogate decision-maker (via a durable power of attorney for health care). However, among recent discussions of healthcare reform, questions arose regarding the value of advance directives. This study sought to determine the prevalence of lost decision-making capacity near the end of life - and to test the association between preferences documented in advance directives and outcomes of surrogate decision-making. Using data collected by the Health and Retirement Study (funded by the National Institute on Aging), a longitudinal survey of a nationally representative cohort of U.S. adults, investigators focused on 3746 adults aged 60 and older who died between 2000 and 2006, and for whom a proxy answered a study directed exit interview after the participant's death.

LIMITATIONS:

  • The proxies who provided key data were subject to recall and social desirability bias, especially with regard to subjective details such as patient preferences. Most proxies were interviewed, on average, 13 months after the subject died.

AUTHOR/FUNDING INFORMATION:
Drs. Silveira and Langa are part of HSR&D's Center for Clinical Management Research in Ann Arbor, MI, which provided some funding support for this study.


Silveira M, Kim S, and Langa K. Advance Directives and Outcomes of Surrogate Decision-Making Before Death. The New England Journal of Medicine April 1, 2010;362(13):1211-1218.

Related Briefs

» next 44 Elder Care Briefs...


» next 13 End of Life Care Briefs...


What are HSR Publication Briefs?

HSR requires notification by HSR-funded investigators about all articles accepted for publication. These journal articles are reviewed by HSR and publication briefs or summaries are written for a select number of articles that are then forwarded to VHA Central Office leadership to keep them informed about important findings or information. Articles to be summarized are selected by HSR based on timeliness of the findings, interest of leadership, or potential impact on the organization. Publication briefs are written for only a small number of HSR published articles. Visit the HSR citations database for a complete listing of HSR articles and presentations.


Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.