The Journal of clinical ethics
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Multicenter Study
Advance care directives: realities and challenges in Central California.
To discover where patients with advance directives (ADs) obtain them and to learn what patients' understanding is of how ADs function. ⋯ Few study participants had advance directives, and attorneys provided and discussed ADs with study participants more than physicians did. Because many patients with ADs seem not to fully understand them, new approaches to advance planning education must be developed.