COMPETENCE OF LONG-TERM-CARE RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR MEDICAL-CARE - A BRIEF, OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT

Data from 50 residents of a long-term care facility were used to exami ne the extent to which performance on a brief, objective inventory cou ld predict a clinical psychologist's evaluation of competence to parti cipate in decisions about medical care. Results indicate that the comp etence to participate in medical decisions of two-thirds of the reside nts could be accurately assessed using scores on a mental status instr ument and two vignette-based measures of medical decision-making. Thes e procedures could enable nursing home staff to objectively assess the competence of residents to participate in important decisions about t heir medical care.