Jan 9, 2019
This episode features Dr Simon Etkind (Cicely Saunders
Institute, King’s College London, London, UK).
To be person-centred, care should take into account individual
preferences. Some influences on care preferences in older
people have been described. These include the family and care
context, individual response and illness-related
factors. Older people living with frailty are at high risk of
acute illness episodes; the influences on preferences in the
context of frailty and recent acute illness have not been
explored. Achieving normality, by ‘getting back to normal’ or
‘finding a new normal’ influences preferences in frail older
people with recent acute illness, as participants seek care that
will help them find this normality. Preferences are
also influenced by the way people respond to changing health
and care experiences. We propose a model of influences on care
preferences in the context of recent acute illness. The
influences described in this model can act as a guide for
discussion and elicitation of current and future care preferences
in this population. When addressing care preferences with
patients and families, clinicians should discuss what may be an
achievable normal for them within their social
context. Prospective longitudinal study will allow
exploration of influences on the stability of care preferences
following acute illness.
Full paper available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0269216318817706