Table 4.
Impact of respondent age and years in practice on the likelihood of compliance with advance directive
|
Scenario 1 |
Age (years) |
Years in Practice |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21-50 | > 50 | P-value | 0-15 | >15 | P-value | |
|
Honor AD |
|
0.841 |
|
0.586 |
||
| Likely |
123 (82%) |
187 (80%) |
|
115 (80%) |
193 (81%) |
|
| Unlikely |
17 (11%) |
30 (13%) |
18 (13%) |
28 (12%) |
||
| Unsure |
10 (7%) |
18 (8%) |
11 (8%) |
17 (7%) |
||
|
Signing 5 years ago prior to elective surgery |
|
0.239 |
|
0.608 |
||
| Important |
84 (56%) |
146 (62%) |
|
87 (60%) |
140 (59%) |
|
| Unimportant |
36 (24%) |
40 (17%) |
31 (22%) |
46 (19%) |
||
| Neither |
30 (20%) |
49 (21%) |
26 (18%) |
52 (22%) |
||
|
Fear of legal liability |
|
0.114 |
|
0.083 |
||
| Important |
65 (43%) |
79 (34%) |
|
60 (42%) |
84 (35%) |
|
| Unimportant |
51 (34%) |
85 (36%) |
|
53 (37%) |
82 (34%) |
|
| Neither |
34 (23%) |
71 (30%) |
|
31 (22%) |
72 (30%) |
|
|
Scenario 2 |
Age (years) |
Years in Practice |
||||
| |
21-50 |
> 50 |
P-value |
0-15 |
>15 |
P-value |
|
Honor AD |
|
0.181 |
|
0.279 |
||
| Likely |
67 (45%) |
93 (40%) |
|
61 (42%) |
97 (41%) |
|
| Unlikely |
59 (39%) |
114 (49%) |
57 (40%) |
115 (48%) |
||
| Unsure |
24 (16%) |
28 (12%) |
26 (18%) |
26 (11%) |
||
|
Acuity of illness does not mirror “pass away in peace” |
|
< 0.033 |
|
0.056 |
||
| Important |
102 (68%) |
176 (75%) |
|
101 (70%) |
177 (74%) |
|
| Unimportant |
17 (11%) |
33 (14%) |
15 (10%) |
33 (14%) |
||
| Neither |
31 (21%) |
26 (15%) |
28 (19%) |
28 (12%) |
||
|
Fear of legal liability |
|
0.258 |
|
0.084 |
||
| Important |
69 (46%) |
89 (38%) |
|
70 (49%) |
86 (36%) |
|
| Unimportant |
34 (23%) |
66 (28%) |
|
31 (22%) |
69 (29%) |
|
| Neither |
47 (31%) |
80 (34%) |
|
43 (29%) |
83 (35%) |
|
|
Scenario 3 |
Age (years) |
Years in Practice |
||||
| |
21-50 |
> 50 |
P-value |
0-15 |
>15 |
P-value |
|
Honor AD |
|
0.834 |
|
0.117 |
||
| Likely |
110 (73%) |
177 (75%) |
|
108 (75%) |
178 (75%) |
|
| Unlikely |
26 (17%) |
40 (17%) |
21 (15%) |
43 (18%) |
||
| Unsure |
14 (9%) |
18 (8%) |
15 (10%) |
17 (7%) |
||
|
Spouse’s demand |
|
< 0.012 |
|
< 0.012 |
||
| Important |
74 (49%) |
138 (59%) |
|
66 (46%) |
143 (60%) |
|
| Unimportant |
54 (36%) |
52 (22%) |
53 (37%) |
53 (22%) |
||
| Neither |
22 (15%) |
45 (19%) |
25 (17%) |
42 (18%) |
||
|
Fear of legal liability |
|
0.864 |
|
0.694 |
||
| Important |
81 (54%) |
125 (53%) |
|
74 (51%) |
128 (54%) |
|
| Unimportant |
36 (24%) |
53 (23%) |
36 (25%) |
53 (22%) |
||
| Neither | 33 (22%) | 57 (24%) | 34 (24%) | 57 (24%) | ||
Consistent with the Results section, we report Somewhat likely/Very likely and Somewhat unlikely/Very unlikely as Likely and Unlikely, respectively. Similarly, we report Important and Unimportant.
Cells are Number (% of column). For example, in Scenario 1, of the 150 respondents who were aged between 21 and 50, 123 (82% of the 150) were Likely (i.e. Very Likely or Somewhat Likely) to honor the advance directive.
P-values reflect Chi-square or Fisher exact test comparisons.