Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29547013›Full record

ArticleThe European journal of general practice2018

More counselling for end-of-life decisions by GPs with own advance directives: A postal survey among German general practitioners.

Rieke Schnakenberg, Lukas Radbruch, Christine Kersting, Friederike Frank, Stefan Wilm, Denise Becka, Klaus Weckbecker, Markus Bleckwenn, Johannes M Just, Michael Pentzek and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in The European journal of general practice, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Rieke Schnakenberga Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Medical Faculty , University of Bonn , Bonn , Germany.
Lukas Radbruchb Department of Palliative Medicine , University Hospital Bonn , Bonn , Germany.
Christine Kerstingc General Medicine , Teaching Area RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany.
Friederike Frankd Institute of General Practice, Medical Faculty , Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf , Düsseldorf , Germany.
Stefan Wilme Department of General Practice, Medical Faculty , Ruhr University of Bochum , Bochum , Germany.
Denise Beckaf Institute for General Medicine , University of Duisburg-Essen , Essen , Germany.
Klaus Weckbeckera Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Medical Faculty , University of Bonn , Bonn , Germany.
Markus Bleckwenna Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Medical Faculty , University of Bonn , Bonn , Germany.
Johannes M Justa Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Medical Faculty , University of Bonn , Bonn , Germany.
Michael Pentzeke Department of General Practice, Medical Faculty , Ruhr University of Bochum , Bochum , Germany.
Birgitta Weltermannc General Medicine , Teaching Area RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany.
University of Bonn · DERuhr University Bochum · DERWTH Aachen University · DEHeinrich Heine University Düsseldorf · DEUniversity Hospital Bonn · DEUniversity of Duisburg-Essen · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough general practitioners (GPs) are among the preferred contact persons for discussing end-of-life issues including advance directives (ADs), there is little data on how GPs manage such consultations.

objectivesThis postal survey asked German GPs about their counselling for end-of-life decisions.

methodsIn 2015, a two-sided questionnaire was mailed to 959 GPs. GPs were asked for details of their consultations on ADs: frequency, duration, template use, and whether they have own ADs. Statistical analysis evaluated physician characteristics associated with an above-average number of consultations on AD.

resultsThe participation rate was 50.3% (n = 482), 70.5% of the GPs were male; the average age was 54 years. GPs had an average of 18 years of professional experience, and 61.4% serve more than 900 patients per three months. Most (96.9%) GPs perform consultations on living wills (LW) and/or powers of attorney (PA), mainly in selected patients (72.3%). More than 20 consultations each on LWs and PAs are performed by 60% and 50% of GPs, respectively. The estimated mean duration of consultations was 21 min for LWs and 16 min for PAs. Predefined templates were used in 72% of the GPs, 50% of GPs had their ADs. A statistical model showed that GPs with ADs and/or a qualification in palliative medicine were more likely to counsel ≥20 patients per year for each document.

conclusionThe study confirmed that nearly all German GPs surveyed provide counselling on ADs. Physicians with ADs counsel more frequently than those without such documents.

Indexed as

Advance DirectivesCounselingAdultAgedFemaleGeneral PractitionersGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and Questionnairesadvance directive/living willcross-sectional surveygeneral practice/family medicineMedical consultation

Identifiers

PMID29547013
PMCPMC5917308
OpenAlexW2789617273

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.