PREFERENCES FOR DIFFERENT LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENTS AMONG ELDERLY PERSONS IN ISRAEL

The purpose of this study was to assess elderly persons' wishes regard ing the use and choice of different life-sustaining treatments (LST). Data were collected from a random sample of 987 Israeli elderly person s, aged 70+. Interviewees were questioned about their wishes for artif icial feeding, mechanical ventilation, and cardiopulmonary resuscitati on in five different illness conditions. Results indicate that signifi cantly more of the respondents would want to prolong their life in mil d rather than in severe illness conditions. Significant differences ar e found, however, among subgroups who differ on religiosity, gender, e ducation, and health status. the findings also indicate that in all fi ve illness conditions, elderly persons are more likely to want cardiop ulmonary resuscitation than artificial feeding. This is explained by t he fact that the public's main source of information is television dra mas, and that there is a lack of communication about the use of LST am ong physicians and patients and their families.