BARRIERS THAT PREDICT RESISTANCE TO COMPLETING A LIVING WILL

We sought to identify perceived barriers and benefits to completing li ving wills for 176 medical outpatients or their family members, using a questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model. The regression equat ion of the patient data identified two items that functioned as signif icant barriers: ''I am not very interested in a living will because I believe that I will live a lot longer,'' and ''Completing a living wil l now is difficult because I would likely change my mind about how I w ant to be managed during terminal illness.'' No variables remained in the equation when family member data were analyzed. We conclude that a major barrier to the completion of living wills (and perhaps advance directives generally) is that they connote personal death. Implication s are explored.