When making decisions about end-of-life care, it helps to actually “see” what that stage of life looks like, according to a new report.

When a group of healthy seniors listened to an oral presentation on the effects of dementia in old age  and saw a video on advanced dementia, they were more likely to choose an end-of-life option of comfort/palliative care than a group that only heard the oral presentation. The findings suggest that video, in addition to discussions and spokeninformation, can help seniors facing dementia better understand theimpact of their end-of-life decisions.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston conducted the study. They divided a group 200 healthy seniors aged 65 and older into twogroups: those who listened to  an oral presentation on the effects of dementia in old age and those who listened to the presentation and viewed a presentation of advanced dementia. After the presentations were complete, participants were asked to choose among three end-of-care options: care to prolong life at all costs, limited care to maintain physical function or comfort/palliative care.

A total of 86% of seniors in the video group said they would choose the comfort/palliative care option if diagnosed with dementia. That compared to 64% of those who only heard the presentation. More people in the listening group preferred the end-of-life care options of maintaining physical function, and receiving care to prolong life at all costs, compared to the other group. After a six-week follow-up, more of the oral presentation group had changed their mind about their choice of end-of-life care than the video group, according to the report.

The full report appears in the May 28 online version of BMJ at www.bmj.com.