Health professionals’ experiences in complying with the Advance Directive of Will in clinical practice

Abstract

Background: The Advance Directive of Will allows the person to express their desire regarding their end-of-life experience. Complying with this directive requires health professionals to have the skills to deal with the complexity of these experiences. Objective: To identify the health professionals’ experiences in complying with the Advance Directive of Will in clinical practice. Methodology: A qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study was conducted using semi-structured interviews. Participants included health professionals from a hospital in northern Portugal. Content analysis was performed according to Bardin’s framework. All ethical and legal principles were respected. Results: Study participants consider the advance directive of will as an instrument that specifies the patient’s wishes regarding end-of-life care. They emphasize that, when fulfilling these directives, they experience various emotions and feelings, like fear, impotence, and respect. Conclusion: Complying with the advance directive of will demands the definition of criteria for supported and shared decision-making. Thus, a greater commitment to training is necessary.