The prevalence and types of advance care planning use in patients with advanced cancer: A retrospective single-centre perspective, Australia

Abstract

Findings This retrospective audit of 320 patients found low Advance Care Planning invitation and utilisation rates, especially in the patients who received chemotherapy in their last 2-weeks of life. In the oncology setting, completion of Acute Resuscitation Plans and Advance Health Directives significantly differed between the control, <2-weeks, and 2-4 weeks groups, identifying the <2-weeks patient group as the lowest utiliser.Meaning The low utilisation of Advance Care Planning in patients with advanced cancer decreases the scope of recognising their preferences at end-of-life care that indicates a need for an embedded framework along with education and training for the staff and patients.