Advance directives: knowledge and acceptance by health professionals

Abstract Using a self-administered questionnaire, this study investigated the knowledge and acceptance by health professionals of advance directives and palliative care in primary care. Of the 40 participating health professionals, most were nurses, physicians, and nursing technicians. Female professionals (77.5%) between 30 and 59 years of age (82.5%), with 10 to 19 years since graduation (45%) and married (65%) predominated in the sample. Most participants (65%) showed familiarity with the World Health Organization’s guidelines on palliative care. However, over half (55%) were unaware of advance directives. Professionals showed reasonable knowledge of World Health Organization guidelines on palliative care but complete ignorance about advance directives, indicating the need for including content about palliative care and advance directives in the education and updating curricula of health professionals.