Preface (Editors) -- Part I; History of Advance Directives and Prerequisites for Validity -- 1. Historical Review of Advance Directives; Alfred Simon -- 2. Personal Capacity to Anticipate Future Illness and Treatment Preferences; Marie-Jo Thiel -- 3. Advance Directives in Psychiatry Jochen Vollmann -- Part II; Defining the Scope of Advance Directives -- 4. On the Scope and Limits of Advance Directives and Prospective Autonomy; Robert Olick -- 5. Revocation of Advance Directives; Ralf Jox -- 6. Limitations to the Scope and Binding Force of Advance Directives: the Conflict Between Compulsory Treatment and the Right to Self‑Determination; Jacqueline Atkinson & Jacqueline Reilly -- 7. Advance Directives in the Context of Imprisonment; Bernice Elger -- Part III; Effects on Family, Friends and Professional Relations -- 8. Advance Directives and the Physician-Patient Relationship: A Surprising Metamorphosis; Mark Aulisio -- 9. Advance Directives and the Role of Family and Close Persons – Legal Provisions and; Challenges; Margot Michel -- 10. Advance Directives and the Ethos of Good Nursing Care; Settimio Monteverde -- Part IV; Ethical Challenges -- 11. Advance Directives Between Respect for Patient Autonomy and Paternalism; Manuel Trachsel et al. -- 12. The Use of Advance Directives in the Context of Limited Resources for Healthcare; Ruth Horn & Ruud ter Meulen -- 13. From Legal Documents to Patient-Oriented Processes: The Evolution of Advance Care Planning; Tanja Krones & Sohaila Bastami -- Part V; Conclusions -- 14. Concluding Remarks; Editors -- Information on Editors and Authors.

This volume gives an overview on the currently debated ethical issues regarding advance directives from an international perspective. It focuses on a wider understanding of the known and widely accepted concept of patient self-determination for future situations. Although advance directives have been widely discussed since the 1980s, the ethical bases of advance directives still remain a matter of heated debates. The book aims to contribute to these controversial debates by integrating fundamental ethical issues on advance directives with practical matters of their implementation. Cultural, national and professional differences in how advance directives are understood by health care professions and by patients, as well as in laws and regulations, are pinpointed.