Religious, cultural and sex influences on advance care directives in patients admitted to a tertiary care center in Kenya

Article indépendant

OSHOW, Fariah | SHAH, Jasmit | ALI, Sayed K.

INTRODUCTION: Advance care directives (AD) are instructions from patients regarding the care they would prefer if they could not make medical decisions in the future. It is widely recognized that racial and ethnic as well as sex differences, particularly in the West, can influence AD. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is limited understanding of how these factors impact AD in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to identify differences in AD among various religious, cultural and sex groups and assess the level of knowledge and attitudes toward AD. METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. We enrolled patients above the age of 18 years who were admitted to the general medical wards. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire that consisted of questions based on demographics and AD. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, including frequencies and percentages, as well as medians and interquartile ranges. RESULTS: The study involved 286 participants, with a median age of 44.0 years (IQR: 37.0 - 52.0). Roughly half of the participants were male (51.7%), and the majority identified themselves as Christians (77.3%) and of African ethnicity (78.3%). Upon further analysis, it was discovered that only 35.3% had an awareness of AD. Notably, individuals from the Hindu religion and Asian ethnicity demonstrated significantly higher knowledge of AD. Furthermore, more males reported having a living will and believed that AD are crucial for patients who could not make independent medical decisions compared to females. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicated a lower awareness and knowledge of AD among the participants. Hindus and Asians exhibited higher levels of awareness regarding AD. Living will were more common in men than the women. Considering the diverse religious and cultural backgrounds in our setting, there is a pressing need for strategies to increase awareness surrounding AD. KEY MESSAGE: This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary center in Kenya. The objective was to examine the influence of religion, culture and sex on AD knowledge. The findings revealed a significant correlation, with Asians and Hindus demonstrating higher levels of knowledge regarding AD.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.09.011

Voir la revue «JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT, 67»

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