Intricate decision making : ambivalences and barriers when fulfilling an advance directive

Lars Schröder,1 Gerhard Homme,1,2 Stephan Sahm3,4 1Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Center of Integrated Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, 2Institute of Medical Biometry, Epidemiology and Informatics, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, 3Department of Gastroenterology and Oncology, Ketteler Hospital, Offenbach, 4Institute for Ethics and History of Medicine, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany Background: Despite a recent statutory ruling stating the binding nature of advance directives (ADs), only a minority of the population has signed one. Yet, a majority deem it of utmost importance to ensure their wishes are followed through in case they are …