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Documented End-of-Life Preferences of People With Parkinson's Disease or Parkinsonism Across Europe

Dijkstra, Bauke W. ; Muente, Catharina ; Garon, Michela ; Rosqvist, Kristina LU ; Scharfenort, Monica LU orcid ; Lex, Katharina M. ; Poku, Philip ; Nixina, Eirini ; Taba, Pille and Krikmann, Ülle , et al. (2026) In Movement Disorders Clinical Practice 13(5). p.1217-1227
Abstract

Background: Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonism are characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. As the disease advances, planning for end-of-life (EoL) care becomes increasingly important. However, consensus-based European guidelines for advance care planning and documentation of EoL care preferences for parkinsonism are lacking. Understanding current documentation practices for EoL care across Europe is an essential first step towards formulating such guidelines. Objectives: Provide an overview of the status of EoL care documentation in selected regions of Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden. Methods: Individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe parkinsonism, participating in the PD_Pal trial were... (More)

Background: Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonism are characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. As the disease advances, planning for end-of-life (EoL) care becomes increasingly important. However, consensus-based European guidelines for advance care planning and documentation of EoL care preferences for parkinsonism are lacking. Understanding current documentation practices for EoL care across Europe is an essential first step towards formulating such guidelines. Objectives: Provide an overview of the status of EoL care documentation in selected regions of Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden. Methods: Individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe parkinsonism, participating in the PD_Pal trial were enrolled. We reviewed participants’ electronic health records (EHRs) and other documentation (eg, advance directives kept at home). A questionnaire was used to extract information on documented EoL care preferences. Results: One hundred eighty nine participants were included (n = 182 Parkinson's disease; n = 7 atypical parkinsonism). Documented EoL care preferences were identified in 70% of the participants in Germany, 21% in Austria, 17% in Sweden, 7% in Greece, 3% in Italy, and 0% in Estonia. Participants more frequently documented their EoL preferences in advance directives than in EHRs. The content of the documentation was largely general, with limited attention to parkinsonism-specific issues. Conclusions: We found considerable variability in the presence of EoL care documentation across European regions. Public awareness and availability of advance directive templates likely contributed to the higher percentage of German participants with advance directives. These should be considered as best practices for enabling individuals with parkinsonism to document their preferences and receive care aligned with them.

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author collaboration
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
advance care planning, atypical parkinsonism, end-of-life, palliative care, Parkinson's disease
in
Movement Disorders Clinical Practice
volume
13
issue
5
pages
1217 - 1227
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:105024187949
  • pmid:41334626
ISSN
2330-1619
DOI
10.1002/mdc3.70467
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Movement Disorders Clinical Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
id
92881c7f-2bf7-42e1-af83-e59ab4f0c5c7
date added to LUP
2026-03-03 11:17:40
date last changed
2026-06-10 09:10:09
@article{92881c7f-2bf7-42e1-af83-e59ab4f0c5c7,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonism are characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. As the disease advances, planning for end-of-life (EoL) care becomes increasingly important. However, consensus-based European guidelines for advance care planning and documentation of EoL care preferences for parkinsonism are lacking. Understanding current documentation practices for EoL care across Europe is an essential first step towards formulating such guidelines. Objectives: Provide an overview of the status of EoL care documentation in selected regions of Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden. Methods: Individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe parkinsonism, participating in the PD_Pal trial were enrolled. We reviewed participants’ electronic health records (EHRs) and other documentation (eg, advance directives kept at home). A questionnaire was used to extract information on documented EoL care preferences. Results: One hundred eighty nine participants were included (n = 182 Parkinson's disease; n = 7 atypical parkinsonism). Documented EoL care preferences were identified in 70% of the participants in Germany, 21% in Austria, 17% in Sweden, 7% in Greece, 3% in Italy, and 0% in Estonia. Participants more frequently documented their EoL preferences in advance directives than in EHRs. The content of the documentation was largely general, with limited attention to parkinsonism-specific issues. Conclusions: We found considerable variability in the presence of EoL care documentation across European regions. Public awareness and availability of advance directive templates likely contributed to the higher percentage of German participants with advance directives. These should be considered as best practices for enabling individuals with parkinsonism to document their preferences and receive care aligned with them.</p>}},
  author       = {{Dijkstra, Bauke W. and Muente, Catharina and Garon, Michela and Rosqvist, Kristina and Scharfenort, Monica and Lex, Katharina M. and Poku, Philip and Nixina, Eirini and Taba, Pille and Krikmann, Ülle and Sikk, Katrin and Flanagan, Katie and Schrag, Anette E. and Konitsiotis, Spyros and Makrydimas, Miltiadis and Lorenzl, Stefan and Odin, Per and Pedrosa, David J. and Vissers, Kris C.P. and Groot, Marieke M. and Bloem, Bastiaan R. and Meinders, Marjan J. and Antonini, Angelo and Tsakanika, Argyri and Trivedi, Dhaval and Gatsios, Dimitri and Fotiadis, Dimitrios and Chaudhuri, K. Ray and Moschos, Nikolaos and Paal, Piret}},
  issn         = {{2330-1619}},
  keywords     = {{advance care planning; atypical parkinsonism; end-of-life; palliative care; Parkinson's disease}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{1217--1227}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Movement Disorders Clinical Practice}},
  title        = {{Documented End-of-Life Preferences of People With Parkinson's Disease or Parkinsonism Across Europe}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.70467}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/mdc3.70467}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}