RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: In France, Leonetti and Claeys-Leonetti laws relating to patients' rights and end-of-life practice have introduced the advance healthcare directives (ADs). Although family doctor's role is important in initiating discussions regarding AD, hospital healthcare professionals should also be concerned by the health care planning laws. METHODS: A descriptive, quantitative and qualitative study was conducted in Paris Saint-Joseph hospital to evaluate the knowledge of nursing personnel regarding ADs. Among healthcare professionals present on 02/06/2016 and agreeing to participate, 50 non-medical caregivers and 50 doctors were randomly selected and took part in this survey. Three trainee lawyers conducted interviews, recorded and anonymized them. The Nvivo software analyzed the qualitative part of the results. RESULTS: Only 10% of healthcare professionals knew these legal and ethical issues in health care. Most caregivers were not in favor of informing all patients admitted to a hospital (hospitalized patients or patients received consultations). For 44%, only hospitalized end-of-life patients should be informed about ADs. For 76% of the people questioned, family doctor has a unique position to guide the patient on the preparation and registration of living wills. In hospital stay, the nurse was proposed by 52% of the staff as the preferred caregiver for AD communication, as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team approach. Finally, the clear majority of caregivers (85%), called for discussions and documentation about ADs, and end-of-life training. CONCLUSION: Advance directives remain poorly known in the hospital, 12 years after the first Leonetti law. The attitude of professionals about ADs is not homogenous but interest for the subject is obvious in the vast majority of caregivers. The results of this survey highlighted that discussions and documentation about ADs as well as training on end-of-life patient care are essential.
