The influence of religious and personal values on nursing home residents' attitudes toward life-sustaining treatments

A cross-sectional survey design was used to interview 133 Jewish, Catholic and Protestant residents From 13 nursing homes to examine the influence of religious and personal values on attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment s. Subjects on average were 83 years old, Caucasian and female, with mure t han half having Advance Directives (ADs). Jewish subjects, as well as those who relied on God, were better educated and more anxious about death, had significantly more positive attitudes toward life-sustaining treatments at the end-of-life. On the other hand, those who had implemented ADs desired f ewer life-sustaining treatments. Findings demonstrate that understanding in dividual desires for life-sustaining treatments is complex. Practitioners w ho provide education on end-of-life decisions need to discuss a myriad of i ssues including individual religious and personal values and other characte ristics in an effort to understand and respect treatment choices.