• Oluwatomilayo Omoya, Anita De Bellis, and Katrina Breaden.
• College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
• Emerg Med Australas. 2024 Apr 1; 36 (2): 231242231-242.

ObjectiveAn advance care directive is a legal document outlining the wishes made by a person about treatment options. However, there is increasing evidence that an advance care directive that has previously been documented may not always benefit the current prognosis of the patient. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the experiences of Australian emergency doctors and nurses concerning the use of previously documented advance care directives at the point of care for patients and their families.MethodsA qualitative study guided by a phenomenological interpretive approach was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ED doctors and nurses across Australia. Data were thematically analysed using a seven-stage data analysis framework.ResultsAn analysis of the interview data resulted in four major themes: (i) Benefits of Advance Care Directives; (ii) Knowledge and Awareness; (iii) Communication; and (iv) Availability of Advance Care Directive Information.ConclusionsFrom the findings, advance care directives were believed to be beneficial in decision making when patients, families, and ED staff agreed with the decisions made. Advance care directives were often made a long time ago but were useful to start conversations around goals of care and end-of-life care relevant to the patient's current situation. Findings in the present study further reinforced that an advance care directive was beneficial when used alongside goals of care at the point of care in EDs.© 2023 The Authors. Emergency Medicine Australasia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

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