Table 1

Characteristics of respondents who filled in both questionnaires (2017–2018), n (%)

Patients’ characteristics
(as measured before implementation)
N=458
Setting of inclusion
 Care home14 (3.1)
 GP practice444 (96.9)
Country of birth, NL*429 (93.7)
Marital status, married*184 (41.1)
Level of education*
 Lower secondary education or lower239 (52.2)
 Higher secondary education103 (22.5)
 Tertiary education116 (25.3)
Religious affiliation*
 No specific religious affiliation or atheist256 (55.9)
 Protestant92 (20.1)
 Catholic57 (12.5)
 Other21 (4.6)
 Do not want to answer this question32 (7.0)
Diagnosis (more than one answer possible)*
 Cancer31 (7.0)
 Rheumatism/arthrosis126 (28.6)
 COPD44 (10.0)
 Diabetes57 (12.9)
 Heart condition115 (26.1)
 Stroke/cerebrovascular accident27 (6.1)
 Dementia7 (1.6)
 Depression21 (4.8)
 Other101 (22.9)
 None110 (24.9)
Do you have a clear idea about future health problems that you might face?
 Don’t know/no277 (61.6)
 Yes173 (38.4)
Preferred timing of ACP, never (vs ever)18 (4.4)
If ever, preferred timing of ACP is
 Before someone is ill89 (23.0)
 At time of diagnosis of a possible life-threatening illness129 (33.3)
 When it is clear that it is no longer possible to cure from the illness169 (43.7)
Reasons not to engage in ACP
 My next of kin know what I want175 (38.2)
 I see no reason not to talk about it186 (40.6)
 I don’t want to think about the future or about getting (more) ill60 (13.1)
 My GP knows what I want40 (8.7)
 I am healthy, there is no reason to do so11 (2.4)
 I am afraid I don’t get the opportunity to change preferences later4 (0.9)
 I don’t know what the future will bring9 (2.0)
 Other reasons13 (2.8)

  • *Characteristics at pre-measurement are reported, if missing in pre-measurement then answer at post-measurement was used in country of birth, education and religion. Missing data: marital status n=10; diagnosis n=17.

  • ACP, advance care planning; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; GP, general practitioner; NL, the Netherlands.