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Décision médicale pour autrui : évaluation du dispositif de la personne de confiance

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The surrogate decision-maker program was established by a series of French law: Kouchner law (2002), Leonetti law (2005) and Claeys-Leonetti law (2016). This health policy states that when a person is unable to express their will, the physician has an obligation to inquire about the patient's will throughout a third party. In the absence of advance directives, physicians collect the testimony of the surrogate decision-maker or, failing that, they collect it throughout family members or relatives. This situation of medical decision making for others is becoming very common with the increase in the aging population and the size of the population with cognitive impairment. Nursing homes (Ehpad) represent a main spot where surrogate decision-makers do medical decision-making for others. Indeed, in 2015, 150,000 people residing in Ehpad died, which represents a quarter of the deaths recorded on the entire French territory. The goal of this research project is to assess the impact of the surrogate decision-maker's program on the quality of care of elderly and dependent patients living in Ehpad as well as on the well-being of their families.

Poster of the project - June 2022

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