Association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment among the elderly in South Korea: a cross-sectional study
Abstract Background Amidst rapid population aging, South Korea enacted the Well-dying Act, late among advanced countries, but public opinion on the act is not still clear. Against this background, this study aims to: 1) investigate factors affecting elderly individuals’ attitude toward life-sustaini...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-10-01
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| Series: | BMC Palliative Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01072-6 |
| _version_ | 1811336311131340800 |
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| author | Il Yun Hyunkyu Kim Eun-Cheol Park Suk-Yong Jang |
| author_facet | Il Yun Hyunkyu Kim Eun-Cheol Park Suk-Yong Jang |
| author_sort | Il Yun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Amidst rapid population aging, South Korea enacted the Well-dying Act, late among advanced countries, but public opinion on the act is not still clear. Against this background, this study aims to: 1) investigate factors affecting elderly individuals’ attitude toward life-sustaining treatment, and 2) examine whether attitude toward life-sustaining treatment is related to their perceived life satisfaction. Methods Data from the 2020 Survey of Living Conditions and Welfare Needs of Korean Older Persons were used. There were 9,916 participants (3,971 males; 5,945 females). We used multivariable-adjusted Poisson regression models with robust variance to examine the association between perceived life satisfaction and attitude toward life-sustaining treatment and calculate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results After adjusting potential confounders, the probabilities that the elderly who were dissatisfied with their current life would favor life-sustaining treatment were 1.52 times (95% CI: 1.15–1.64) and 1.28 times (95% CI: 1.09–1.51) higher for men and women, respectively, than the elderly who were satisfied. In addition, attitudes in favor of life-sustaining treatment were observed prominently among the elderly with long schooling years or high household income, when they were dissatisfied with their life. Conclusions Our results suggested that for the elderly, life satisfaction is an important factor influencing how they exercise their autonomy and rights regarding dying well and receiving life-sustaining treatment. It is necessary to introduce interventions that would enhance the life satisfaction of the elderly and terminally ill patients and enable them to make their own decisions according to the values of life. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:37:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ad6873592264837aaf30e42689318d1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-684X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:37:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Palliative Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ad6873592264837aaf30e42689318d12022-12-22T02:37:18ZengBMCBMC Palliative Care1472-684X2022-10-012111710.1186/s12904-022-01072-6Association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment among the elderly in South Korea: a cross-sectional studyIl Yun0Hyunkyu Kim1Eun-Cheol Park2Suk-Yong Jang3Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei UniversityInstitute of Health Services Research, Yonsei UniversityInstitute of Health Services Research, Yonsei UniversityInstitute of Health Services Research, Yonsei UniversityAbstract Background Amidst rapid population aging, South Korea enacted the Well-dying Act, late among advanced countries, but public opinion on the act is not still clear. Against this background, this study aims to: 1) investigate factors affecting elderly individuals’ attitude toward life-sustaining treatment, and 2) examine whether attitude toward life-sustaining treatment is related to their perceived life satisfaction. Methods Data from the 2020 Survey of Living Conditions and Welfare Needs of Korean Older Persons were used. There were 9,916 participants (3,971 males; 5,945 females). We used multivariable-adjusted Poisson regression models with robust variance to examine the association between perceived life satisfaction and attitude toward life-sustaining treatment and calculate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results After adjusting potential confounders, the probabilities that the elderly who were dissatisfied with their current life would favor life-sustaining treatment were 1.52 times (95% CI: 1.15–1.64) and 1.28 times (95% CI: 1.09–1.51) higher for men and women, respectively, than the elderly who were satisfied. In addition, attitudes in favor of life-sustaining treatment were observed prominently among the elderly with long schooling years or high household income, when they were dissatisfied with their life. Conclusions Our results suggested that for the elderly, life satisfaction is an important factor influencing how they exercise their autonomy and rights regarding dying well and receiving life-sustaining treatment. It is necessary to introduce interventions that would enhance the life satisfaction of the elderly and terminally ill patients and enable them to make their own decisions according to the values of life.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01072-6Life-sustaining treatmentWell-dyingEnd-of-life careLife SatisfactionSelf-determinants right |
| spellingShingle | Il Yun Hyunkyu Kim Eun-Cheol Park Suk-Yong Jang Association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment among the elderly in South Korea: a cross-sectional study BMC Palliative Care Life-sustaining treatment Well-dying End-of-life care Life Satisfaction Self-determinants right |
| title | Association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment among the elderly in South Korea: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment among the elderly in South Korea: a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment among the elderly in South Korea: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment among the elderly in South Korea: a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life-sustaining treatment among the elderly in South Korea: a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | association of perceived life satisfaction with attitudes toward life sustaining treatment among the elderly in south korea a cross sectional study |
| topic | Life-sustaining treatment Well-dying End-of-life care Life Satisfaction Self-determinants right |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01072-6 |
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