Table 3 POLST completion rate according to degree of understanding
Variable | Total (N = 101) | POLST- completion (n = 72) | POLST non-completion (n = 29) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Familiarity with “life sustaining treatment”, n. (%) | ||||
Very familiar | 9 (8.9%) | 7 (9.7%) | 2 (6.9%) | |
Familiar | 31 (30.7%) | 26 (36.1%) | 5 (17.2%) | |
Fair understanding | 35 (34.7%) | 27 (37.5%) | 8 (27.6%) | |
Not familiar | 15 (14.9%) | 7 (9.7%) | 8 (27.6%) | |
Hardly know about it | 10 (9.9%) | 5 (6.9%) | 5 (17.2%) | |
Unaware | 1 (1.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (3.4%) | |
Median scorea | 3.14 | 3.32 | 2.68 | 0.016 |
Information sources b | ||||
Family or other people | 6 (5.9%) | 6 (8.3%) | 0 (0.0%) | |
Newspaper or television news | 50 (49.5%) | 36 (50.0%) | 14 (48.3%) | |
Internet | 7 (6.9%) | 6 (8.3%) | 1 (3.4%) | |
Physician | 29 (28.7%) | 23 (31.9%) | 6 (20.7%) | |
Never heard about it | 11 (10.9%) | 6 (8.3%) | 5 (17.2%) | |
Familiarity with “POLST”, n. (%) | ||||
Very familiar | 11 (10.9%) | 8 (11.1%) | 3 (10.3%) | |
Familiar | 22 (21.8%) | 18 (25.0%) | 4 (13.8%) | |
Fair understanding | 26 (25.7%) | 22 (30.6%) | 4 (13.8%) | |
Not familiar | 20 (19.8%) | 13 (18.1%) | 7 (24.1%) | |
Hardly know about it | 22 (21.8%) | 11 (15.3%) | 11 (37.9%) | |
Unaware | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | |
Median scorea | 2.80 | 2.99 | 2.34 | 0.036 |
Information sources b | ||||
Family or other people | 7 (6.9%) | 5 (6.9%) | 2 (6.9%) | |
Newspaper or television news | 38 (37.6%) | 27 (37.5%) | 11 (37.9%) | |
Internet | 7 (6.9%) | 6 (8.3%) | 1 (3.4%) | |
Physician | 40 (39.6%) | 32 (44.4%) | 8 (27.6%) | |
Never heard about it | 17 (16.8%) | 10 (13.9%) | 7 (24.1%) | |