Advance care planning among the general public in Japan: Association with awareness about dementia

Abstract

Aim: To explore attitudes towards advance care planning among the general public in Japan and to examine the association between the advance care planning and awareness about dementia. Methods: We conducted a postal self-administered questionnaire survey in a sample of the general population aged 40 and over and 86% (n = 2,161) of the sample were eligible for analysis. The question items included sociodemographic characteristics, awareness about dementia (anxiety about dementia and knowledge about dementia), and advance care planning (decision making on own care preference if extra assistance were required and disclosure of their care preferences to family members). Results: More than a half of the participants had yet to consider what kind of care they preferred to receive if extra assistance were required, especially in men and younger people. Although some people had made a decision regarding care preferences, only 39% of those had disclosed their wishes for care to family members. People who had higher awareness (anxiety and knowledge) about dementia were more likely to consider or make a decision about care preferences, irrespective of age and gender. On the other hand, the disclosure of care preferences to family members was associated with the age groups but not with the extent of awareness about dementia. Conclusions: The general public in Japan are not used to determining and disclosing their own preferences on advance care planning. There is clearly a need for greater public awareness and further study about an effective method for enhancement of advance care planning.