New Tools Help Document Care Wishes for Advanced-Stage Dementia

The nonprofit Compassion & Choices advocacy has released new tools to help people think about what they would consider quality of life if they had dementia, and to share their wishes with loved ones and healthcare providers, reports Next Avenue . Among end-of-life wishes that Compassion & Choices has lobbied for is the option of medical assistance in dying. But laws permitting this are determined by a person being of sound mind, which is unavailable to people with dementia. The organization has developed a free online questionnaire called the Dementia Values and Priorities Tool. After someone answers its questions and fills in their personal data and information for their proxy, the tool generates a dementia healthcare directive addendum for medical providers and family — which can be downloaded and e-mailed. Also from Compassion & Choices is a free Dementia Provision form for adding to an advance directive. "The tools have the potential to empower caregivers to make sure they're focusing on quality of life and asking questions to cause us to pause," said Compassion & Choices' Matt Whitaker. "What are we doing in this moment and what are we doing it for? And that has the potential to be transformative — not just for how we die with dementia, but how we care for and how people live with this diagnosis."