High impact information on Living Wills

• RESULTS: White patients were more likely to have a durable power of attorney (34% v 8%, P =.01) and were more likely to have a living will (LW; 41% v 11%, P =.004) than were African-American patients [1].
• The latter includes an understanding of Oklahoma's DNR law and the Advance Directive for Health Care (Living Will) law [2].
• Ethics in action. An elderly man with end-stage COPD has a living will [3].
• A random sample of 974 registered nurses in Nova Scotia were surveyed during the 1995-96 registration year to determine their understanding of living wills legislation; their experiences, roles, and attitudes related to living wills; and their perceptions of the barriers to and resources for using living wills in their practice [4].
• And living wills -- BBC1 Panorama: "Whose Death Is It Anyway?," 6 Mar 1995 [5].

Associations of Living Wills with chemical compounds

• Regarding a patient's Advance Directive/Living Will, these three concepts can pose ethical complexities for the medical team due to the notions of unconsciousness, cognitive appreciation, and life support being relevant to both PC therapy as well as these documents [6].
• Since the United States Supreme Court decision in the Cruzan case, there will be more use of living wills which authorize the discontinuance of medical treatment for the terminally ill [7].

Gene context of Living Wills

• The EMT and the living will [8].
• Living wills generally apply in the context of terminal illness or irreversible coma; however, definitions of terminal conditions, imminent death, or life-sustaining procedures can be problematic [9].
• In April, Pennsylvania became one of the last states in the country to statutorily recognize living wills [10].
• This paper is about the problems faced by a responsible family in making a decision about the maintenance of nutrition and hydration for a member who had not yet prepared a Living Will or Health Care Proxy form [11].

References