Interventions to promote the use of advance directives: an overview of systematic reviews.

Objective: To identify, appraise and synthesise the results of systematic reviews of the literature (SRLs) that examines the effectiveness of interventions to increase advance directive (AD) completion rate.

Methods: Narrative review of the literature-an overview of SRLs focused on interventions to improve patients' AD completion rate.

Results: Seven SRLs were located.

Advance directives and proxies' predictions about patients' treatment preferences.

The accuracy of proxies when they interpret advance directives or apply substituted decision-making criteria has been called into question. It therefore became important to know if the Andalusian Advance Directive Form (AADF) can help to increase the accuracy of proxies' predictions. The aim of this research was to compare the effect of the AADF on the accuracy of proxies' predictions about patients' preferences with that gained from informative and deliberative sessions about end-of-life decision making.

[Not Available].

The debate about the "right to die with dignity" will only be productive if the words used are constructed properly. "Euthanasia" is probably the word that most needs further clarification. This word is frequently abused and still remains unclear.

[Validation of the Life-Support Preferences Questionnaire (LSPQ) for its use in Spain].

Objective: To validate the Life-Support Preferences Questionnaire (LSPQ) for its use in Spain.

Design: Three-stage study: a) translation and linguistic adaptation; b) evaluation of its validity; and c) validation of its psychometric properties.

Setting: Nine primary care nursing clinics and 2 university classes in Granada, Spain.

Advance directives in Spain. Perspectives from a medical bioethicist approach.

Spain is one of the most advanced European countries in terms of the legislative and administrative development of ADs. Article 11 of Law 41/2002, concerning Patient Autonomy, regulates 'advance directives' and has prompted various Autonomous Regions to develop legislation in this area. Nevertheless, whilst the variety of legislations in different territories presents advantages, the disparity of criteria also presents problems.