What do doctors know about assessing decision-making capacity?
Young, G.; Douglass, A.; Davison, L.
New Zealand Medical Journal 131(1471): 58-71
2018
ISSN/ISBN: 1175-8716 PMID: 29518800 Document Number: 695497
To survey hospital doctors (HDs) and general practitioners (GPs) on what they know about assessing capacity, and to determine their educational needs. A mixed-methods, cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of HDs and GPs. Respondents were asked about their roles, the prevalence of older patients they had seen, specific questions about capacity assessment, difficulties encountered and their preferred format for further education. 152/980 (15%) HDs and 74/4,000 (2%) GPs responded. Most had been concerned about a patient's capacity in the past year, but had not received training in assessing capacity since graduation. The average responder scored below 70% on knowledge questions. Lack of legal knowledge and time pressures were among difficulties encountered. One-third of respondents lacked confidence to assess capacity to a standard high enough to present in court. Many doctors were willing to improve their skills, requesting tutorials or short courses. Respondents demonstrated gaps in their knowledge on assessing capacity, and a lack of confidence in their opinions. The findings of this survey suggest that further clinical and legal education of doctors in performing capacity assessments would be valuable.