Jockey Club End-of-Life Community Care Project, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Centre on Behavioral Health, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
BMC Palliat Care. 2017 Jul 10;17(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s12904-017-0218-8.
Advance care planning is a process of discussion that enables competent adults to express their wishes about end-of-life care through periods of decisional incapacity. Although a number of studies have documented social workers' attitudes toward, knowledge about, and involvement in advance care planning, the information is fragmented. The purpose of this review was to provide a narrative synthesis of evidence on social workers' perspectives and experiences regarding implementation of advance care planning.
Six databases were searched for peer-reviewed research papers from their respective inception through December 2016. All of the resulting studies relevant to both advance care planning and social worker were examined. The findings of relevant studies were synthesized thematically.
Thirty-one articles met the eligibility criteria. Six research themes were identified: social workers' attitudes toward advance care planning; social workers' knowledge, education and training regarding advance care planning; social workers' involvement in advance care planning; social workers' perceptions of their roles; ethical issues relevant to advance care planning; and the effect of social work intervention on advance care planning engagement. The findings suggest that there is a consensus among social workers that advance care planning is their duty and responsibility and that social workers play an important role in promoting and implementing advance care planning through an array of activities.
This study provides useful knowledge for implementing advance care planning through illustrating social workers' perspectives and experiences. Further studies are warranted to understand the complexity inherent in social workers' involvement in advance care planning for different life-limiting illnesses or within different socio-cultural contexts.
预先医疗照护计划是一个讨论过程，使有能力的成年人能够在决策能力丧失期间表达他们对临终关怀的意愿。尽管许多研究记录了社会工作者对预先医疗照护计划的态度、知识和参与，但这些信息是零散的。本综述的目的是对社会工作者对预先医疗照护计划实施的看法和经验进行叙述性综合。
从各数据库的创建之初到 2016 年 12 月，对同行评议的研究论文进行了检索。对所有与预先医疗照护计划和社会工作者相关的研究进行了检查。对相关研究的发现进行了主题综合。
有 31 篇文章符合入选标准。确定了六个研究主题：社会工作者对预先医疗照护计划的态度；社会工作者关于预先医疗照护计划的知识、教育和培训；社会工作者对预先医疗照护计划的参与；社会工作者对其角色的看法；与预先医疗照护计划相关的伦理问题；以及社会工作干预对预先医疗照护计划参与的影响。研究结果表明，社会工作者普遍认为预先医疗照护计划是他们的职责和责任，社会工作者通过一系列活动在促进和实施预先医疗照护计划方面发挥着重要作用。
本研究通过说明社会工作者的观点和经验，为实施预先医疗照护计划提供了有用的知识。需要进一步的研究来理解在不同的生命限制疾病或不同的社会文化背景下，社会工作者参与预先医疗照护计划的固有复杂性。
