Objectives

Determine the knowledge and advance care planning in primary care and to identify associated factors.

Material and Methods

Type of study: Cross-sectional multicentric study. Study population: Physicians and nurses of 15 Clinical Management Units at Cordoba and Guadalquivir Health District. Sampling: Multistage with N = 269. Tools: Validated questionnaire. Analysis: Descriptive and multivariate statistical analyses were done.

Results

Mean age of 51 years professional (SD 8.2) and 60.9% of them were women. About 55.8% of participants were physicians and 79.3% had permanent posts. Mean working years was 23.5 (SD 9.4) and about 50.9% of participants worked at rural areas. Mean knowledge score was 5.1 (SD 2.09). 98.4% believe early vital will is regulated in Andalusia. About 56.9% have not read the regulatory document and 78.1% have not read the planning guidebook. More than 65% don’t know the corresponding registry office. 89.3% do not plan in the last year; who planned did that <3 times. The p value of planning is: 0.838 about sex; 0.521 about age; 0.841 about scope of work; 0.543 about professional category; 0.934 about years of service; and 0.210 about type of contract. Only the professional category is significantly (p=0.029) associated with the planning and reading of the guidebook to plan the advance directives.

Conclusions

Few medical practitioners plan with the patient. No independent study identifies factors.