Physician Attitudes Toward Advanced Directives

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23125398

Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2012 Nov 2. [Epub ahead of print]

Physician Attitudes Toward Advanced Directives: A Literature Review of Variables Impacting on Physicians Attitude Toward Advance Directives.

Coleman AM.

Abstract

Purpose: To review physician's attitudes as well as the variables that may impact on physicians' attitude toward advance directives (ADs). Method: Literature review of 17 published articles, covering the period 1989 to 2011. Findings: Physicians overall have a positive attitude toward patients' AD. However, other factors affect this "general positive attitude." These factors influence the attitude-behavior relationship of physicians, and hence their actual practice in relation to patients' AD. Conclusion: The findings from this review are of importance in explaining the differences in the attitude of physicians toward AD and their compliance. This raises the issue of consideration of other ethical paradigms/theories in the clinical context other than the framework of "principlism-"based autonomy, on which AD leans on. This is important in light of the pluralism of ethical theories.