Older patients’ and their caregivers’ understanding of advanced care planning

Abstract

Purpose of reviewThe aim of this study was to review the recent literature (2019-2021) on older patients' and their caregivers' understanding of advance care planning. Recent findingsRecent studies highlight the continued gaps in knowledge about advance care planning for older adults with cancer and their caregivers both domestically and abroad. The recent literature also revealed that there is a lack of research methodology to assess knowledge of advance care planning reliably and validly in older adults with cancer and their caregivers given the lack of uniform scales to measure knowledge of advance care planning. SummaryOlder adults with cancer are at an elevated risk of death from their illness, and it is essential they understand how advance care planning can improve their quality of life, facilitate goal congruent care and ultimately decrease medical expenditures at end of life. In order to engage in a process such as advance care planning, patients must know what it is and how it can be helpful to them. The lack of understanding about advance care planning presents a significant barrier to patients engaging in the process. Public health campaigns to increase advance care planning knowledge are needed to ensure that older adults with cancer and their caregivers understand how this service can be helpful to them as they approach end of life.