• Jun Miyashita, Sayaka Shimizu, Teruhisa Azuma, Taro Takeshima, Ryuji Suzuki, Shunichi Fukuhara, and Yosuke Yamamoto.
• Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, School of Public Health in the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Department of General Medicine, Shirakawa Satellite for Teaching And Research (STAR), Fukushima Medical University, Shirakawa, Fukushima, Japan; Institute for Health Outcomes and Process Evaluation Research (iHope International), Kyoto, Japan.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Jan 1; 61 (1): 63-70.

ContextAdvance care planning (ACP) is vital for end-of-life care management. Experiences as informal family caregivers might act as a catalyst to promote ACP.ObjectivesWe investigated the association between ACP discussions and caregiving experiences.MethodsA nationwide survey in Japan was conducted in December 2016 using a quota sampling method to select a sample representative of the general Japanese population. The responses of 3167 individuals aged 20-84 years (mean age: 50.9 ± 16.8) were analyzed. The outcome was measured by asking if respondents had ever engaged in ACP discussions. The exposure was measured by asking whether and for how long respondents had experience as informal caregivers for family members. We analyzed informal caregiving experience related to the occurrence of ACP discussions using multivariable logistic regression models that adjusted for possible covariates.ResultsRespondents with informal caregiving experience had significantly higher odds of having ACP discussions than those without caregiving experience (adjusted odds ratio: 1.93, 95% CI = 1.63, 2.29). Stronger effects were identified in younger adults (aged 20-65 years) and those with a higher education level (education duration > 12 years) than in older adults (aged ≥65 years) and those with a lower education level, respectively.ConclusionExperiences as informal caregivers for family members may facilitate ACP discussions among Japanese adults, especially younger adults with higher educational attainment. Our findings may help health-care providers screen those at risk for inadequate ACP discussions, and informal caregiving experience should be considered when health-care providers initiate discussions of end-of-life care.Copyright © 2020 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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