2026-10-11T19:12:03Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34035151 2026-09-30T17:31:24Z category_7 category_12 category_21 category_24 category_61 category_106 category_122 category_132 portal_5 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<p>Demographic characteristics (N = 363).</p> Chee Luan Lim (25145233) Jing Xin Vanessa Phua (25145236) Yi Xuan Shannon Goh (25145239) Poay Sian Sabrina Lee (9323634) Hui Ying Valerie Teo (25145242) Wern Ee Tang (5071007) Medicine Cell Biology Biotechnology Evolutionary Biology Developmental Biology Science Policy Mental Health Infectious Diseases patients &# 8217 commonly reported barrier commonly endorsed barrier aged &# 8805 advance care planning administered questionnaire available mean score 19 particularly among younger participants &# 8217 mean score 5 response rate ), xlink "> patients mean age xlink "> singapore continues sectional study related experience recognised significance participants completed minimally burdensome lower education fully completed family members factors influencing chronic diseases central singapore 61 years 56 years 471 questionnaires 048 ). 001 ), <div> <p>Introduction</p><p>The rate of advance care planning (ACP) adoption in Singapore continues to be suboptimal, despite its recognised significance. Identifying the obstacles to ACP uptake is essential for enhancing its implementation, particularly within primary care environments.</p> <p>Aim</p><p>To explore attitudes towards ACP and identify factors influencing ACP discussion amongst adults in public primary care setting in Singapore.</p> <p>Methods</p><p>A cross-sectional study was undertaken among adults aged 21 years and older at a public primary care clinic in central Singapore. Participants completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire available in English, Chinese, and Malay, which assessed attitudes toward ACP and factors influencing its adoption. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 28.0.</p> <p>Results</p><p>Of 471 questionnaires, 400 were returned (84.9% response rate), and 363 were fully completed. Participants’ mean age was 56 years; 58.7% were female. Ethnic distribution matched Singapore’s demographics: 72.5% Chinese, 14.0% Malay, 9.4% Indian, 4.1% others. Overall, ACP was rated as beneficial (mean score 19.96/25) and minimally burdensome (mean score 5.40/25). Fear of death was the most commonly endorsed barrier to ACP discussion (25.9%). However, fear of death was significantly less common among older adults, declining from 40.0% among participants aged 21–40 years to 14.4% among those aged ≥61 years (p < 0.001), and was also lower among participants with chronic diseases (p = 0.011) and those with family members who had experienced serious illness requiring hospitalisation (p = 0.048). Participants with history of cancer (p = 0.010) or a seriously ill family member (p = 0.001) viewed ACP more positively, while those with lower education (p = 0.023) or hypertension (p = 0.008) found ACP to be more burdensome.</p> <p>Conclusion</p><p>Patients in primary care generally viewed ACP positively. While fear of death was the most commonly reported barrier, it was less prevalent among older adults and those with illness-related experience. Tailored, culturally sensitive strategies may help improve ACP engagement, particularly among younger and healthier individuals.</p></div> 2026-09-30T17:31:21Z Dataset Dataset 10.1371/journal.pone.0359632.t001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_p_Demographic_characteristics_N_363_p_/34035151 CC BY 4.0