We conduct high-quality research with the aim of building an evidence base for advance care planning and increasing data availability for translational research.
We collaborate with many leading universities and organisations to deliver robust research initiatives and build high-level evidence. We share our evidence and findings via academic and grey literature publications.
Published research
Organisational and advance care planning program characteristics associated with advance care directive completion: a prospective multicentre cross-sectional audit among health and residential aged care services caring for older Australians
Detering K, Sinclair C, Buck K, Sellars M, White B, Kelly H, Nolte L. BMC Health Services Research 21,700 (2021) doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06523-z
Advance care directive prevalence among older Australians and associations with person-level predictors and quality indicators
Buck K, Nolte L, Sellars M, Sinclair C, White B, Kelly H, Macleod A, Detering K. Health Expectations (2021) doi:10.1111/hex.13264
Public knowledge, preferences and experiences about medical substitute decision-making: a national cross-sectional survey
Sellars M, Tran J, Nolte L, White B, Sinclair C, Fetherstonhaugh D, Detering K. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care (2021) doi:10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002619
Advance care planning participation by people with dementia: a cross-sectional survey and medical record audit
Bryant J, Sellars M, Waller A, Detering K, Sinclair C, Ruseckaite R, White B, Nolte L. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care (2021) doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002550
Systematic review and content analysis of Australian health care substitute decision making online resources
Tran J, Sellars M, Nolte L, White B, Sinclair C, Fetherstonhaugh D, Detering K. Australian Health Review (2021) doi.org/10.1071/AH20070
Inadequate completion of advance care directives by individuals with dementia: national audit of health and aged care facilities
Bryant J, Sellars M, Sinclair C, Detering K, Buck K, Waller A, White B, Nolte L. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care (2021) doi:10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002767
Exploring advance care planning awareness, experiences, and preferences of people with cancer and support people: an Australian online cross-sectional study
Rodi H, Detering K, Sellars M, MacLeod A, Todd J, Fullerton S, Waller A, Nolte L. Supportive Care in Cancer (2020).
Identifying barriers and facilitators to implementing advance care planning in prisons: a rapid literature review
Macleod, A., Nair, D., Ilbahar, E. et al.Health Justice 8, 22 (2020)
Association between region of birth and advance care planning documentation among older Australian migrant communities: A multi-center audit study
Sinclair C, Sellars M, Buck K, Detering K, White Ben. P, Nolte L. (2020) The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, gbaa127
Advance care planning in Australia during the COVID-19 outbreak: now more important than ever
Sinclair C, Nolte L, White Ben. P, Detering K. Internal Medicine Journal. (2020) 918–923
Prevalence of advance care planning documentation and self-reported uptake in older Australians with a cancer diagnosis
Detering K, Sellars M, Kelly H, et al. Journal of Geriatric Oncology (2020)
Challenges in obtaining research ethics and governance approvals for an Australian national inter-sector multi-site audit study
Buck K, Nolte L, Kelly H, et al. Australian Health Review (accepted 20 March 2020, forthcoming)
Making decisions about long-term institutional care placement among people with dementia and their caregivers: systematic review of qualitative studies
Teng C, Loy C, Sellars M, et al. Gerontologist. 2020;60(4):e329–e346.
Personal and interpersonal factors and their associations with advance care planning documentation: A cross-sectional survey of older adults in Australia
Sellars M, Detering KM, Sinclair C, et al. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2020;59(6):1212-1222.e3
"This is unchartered water for all of us": Challenges anticipated by hospital clinicians when voluntary assisted dying becomes legal in Victoria
McDougall R, Hayes B, Sellars M, et al. Australian Health Review
Prospective multicentre cross-sectional audit among older Australians accessing health and residential aged care services: protocol for a national advance care directive prevalence study
Detering KM, Buck K, Sellars M, et al, Open 2019;9:e031691.
Doctors’ perspectives on adhering to advance care directives when making medical decisions for patients: an Australian interview study
Moore N, Detering KM, Low T, et al, BMJ Open 2019;9:e032638.
Costs and outcomes of advance care planning and end-of-life care for older adults with end-stage kidney disease: A person-centred decision analysis
Sellars M, Clayton JM, Detering KM, Tong A, Power D, et al. PLOS ONE. 2019:14(5): e0217787.
Concordance between self-reported completion of advance care planning documentation and availability of documentation in Australian health and residential aged care services
Buck K, Detering KM, Pollard A, et al. Journal of pain and symptom management. 2019: 58(2):264-274.
Facilitators and barriers to advance care planning implementation in Australian aged care settings: A systematic review and thematic analysis
Batchelor F, Hwang K, Haralambous B, et al. Australasian journal on ageing. 2019;38(3):173-181.
Volunteer involvement in advance care planning: a scoping review
Sellars M, Simpson J, Kelly H, et al. . Journal of pain and symptom management. 2019;57(6):1166-1175.e1.
From Patient-Centered to Person-Centered Care for Kidney Diseases
Morton RL, Sellars M. . Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2019;14:623-5.
Prevalence and correlates of advance care directives among older Australians accessing health and residential aged care services: multicentre audit study
Detering KM, Buck K, Ruseckaite R, et al. BMJ open. 2019;9:e025255.
Case‐control study of end‐of‐life treatment preferences and costs following advance care planning for adults with end‐stage kidney disease.
Sellars M, Morton RL, Clayton JM, Tong A, Mawren D, Silvester W, Power D, Ma R, Detering KM. Nephrology. 2019 Feb;24(2):148-54.
Perspectives of people with dementia and carers on advance care planning and end-of-life care: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.
Sellars M, Chung O, Nolte L, et al. Palliative medicine. 2019;33:274-90.
Exploring the knowledge, attitudes and needs of advance care planning in older Chinese Australians
Yap SS, Chen K, Detering KM, Fraser SA. Journal of clinical nursing. 2018;27:3298-306.
An interview study of patient and caregiver perspectives on advance care planning in ESRD
Sellars M, Clayton JM, Morton RL, et al. American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 2018;71:216-24.
A randomised controlled trial of an advance care planning intervention for patients with incurable cancer
Johnson SB, Butow PN, Bell ML, et al. British journal of cancer. 2018;119:1182.
A case‐control study of end‐of‐life treatment preferences and costs following advance care planning for adults with end stage kidney disease
Sellars M, Morton RL, Clayton JM, Tong A, Mawren D, Silvester W, Power D, Ma R, Detering KM. Nephrology. 2018 Feb 1.
An economic model of advance care planning in Australia: a cost-effective way to respect patient choice
Nguyen K-H, Sellars M, Agar M, et al. BMC health services research. 2017;17:797.
Prospective comparative effectiveness cohort study comparing two models of advance care planning provision for Australian community aged care clients
Detering KM, Carter RZ, Sellars MW, Lewis V, Sutton EA. . BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. 2017;7:486-94.
Advance care planning in chronic kidney disease: a survey of current practice in Australia
Luckett T, Spencer L, Morton RL, Pollock CA, Lam L, Silvester W, Sellars M, Detering KM, Butow PN, Tong A, Clayton JM. Nephrology. 2017 Feb 1;22(2):139-49.
Australian psychiatrists' support for psychiatric advance directives: responses to a hypothetical vignette
Sellars M, Fullam R, O'Leary C, Mountjoy R, Mawren D, Weller P, Newton R, Brophy L, McEwan T, Silvester W. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. 2017 Jan 2;24(1):61-73.
Protocol for a national prevalence study of advance care planning documentation and self-reported uptake in Australia
Ruseckaite R, Detering KM, Evans SM, et al. BMJ Open. 2017;7:e018024.
Exploring the knowledge, attitudes and needs of advance care planning in older Chinese-Australian
Yap SS, Chen K, Detering KM, Fraser SA.Journal of clinical nursing. 2017 May 23.
2016
Advance care planning in Australia: what does the law say?
Carter RZ, Detering KM, Silvester W, Sutton E. Australian Health Review. 2016 Aug 26;40(4):405-14.
2016
Advance care planning in patients with incurable cancer: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Johnson S, Clayton J, Butow PN, Silvester W, Detering K, Hall J, Kiely BE, Cebon J, Clarke S, Bell ML, Stockler M. BMJ open. 2016 Dec 1;6(12):e012387.
2015
Current advance care planning practice in the Australian community: an online survey of home care package case managers and service managers
Sellars M, Detering KM, Silvester W. BMC palliative care. 2015 Dec;14(1):15.
2015
Palliative care health professionals’ experiences of caring for patients with advance care directives
Johnson CE, Singer R, Masso M, Sellars M, Silvester W. Australian Health Review. 2015 Apr 23;39(2):154-9.
2015
Advance care planning in palliative care: a national survey of health professionals and service managers
Sellars M, Silvester W, Masso M, Johnson CE. Australian Health Review. 2015 Apr 23;39(2):146-53.
2015
Feasibility and acceptability of advance care planning in elderly Italian and Greek speaking patients as compared to English-speaking patients: an Australian cross-sectional study
Detering K, Sutton E, Fraser S, Wallis K, Silvester W, Mawren D, Whiteside K. BMJ open. 2015 Aug 1;5(8):e008800.
2014
Advance care planning for adults with CKD: a systematic integrative review. American Journal of Kidney Diseases
Luckett T, Sellars M, Tieman J, Pollock CA, Silvester W, Butow PN, Detering KM, Brennan F, Clayton JM. 2014 May 1;63(5):761-70.
2014
Teaching general practitioners and doctors-in-training to discuss advance care planning: evaluation of a brief multimodality education programme. BMJ supportive & palliative care
Detering K, Silvester W, Corke C, Milnes S, Fullam R, Lewis V, Renton J. 2014 May 20:bmjspcare-2013.
2011
Advance directives, perioperative care and end-of-life planning. Best Practice & Research Clinical Anaesthesiology
Silvester W, Detering K. 2011 Sep 1;25(3):451-60.
2011
Advance care planning and end-of-life care
Silvester W, Detering K.The Medical journal of Australia. 2011 Oct 17;195(8):435-6.
2010
The impact of advance care planning on end of life care in elderly patients: randomised controlled trial
Detering KM, Hancock AD, Reade MC, Silvester W. Bmj. 2010 Mar
Grey literature complements published evidence by providing information such as:
- reports from analyses that aren’t typically published in journals
- quality improvement activities
- national program activities and evaluation
- policy analyses
- very recent unpublished findings
2021
- Advance care planning laws: can we improve consistency? - this document is available on request by emailing acpa@austin.org.au.
2020
- Concordance between instructional directions in advance care planning documentation versus medical orders [PDF 607.01 KB]
- Advance care planning in aged care: A guide to support implementation in community and residential settings [PDF 838.13 KB]
- Advance Care Directives: legislative reform is needed to support audio-visual witnessing and uptake during COVID-19 and beyond [PDF 1978.17 KB]
- Content and quality assessment of advance care planning policies in Australian health and residential aged care services: implications for future policy development [PDF 1216.77 KB]
- Obligations of Australian health practitioners in relation to advance care planning - this document is available on request by emailing acpa@austin.org.au.
- The Australian public's knowledge, attitudes and experiences regarding substitute decision-making for medical decisions - this document is available on request by emailing acpa@austin.org.au.
- ACP Education capability framework: summary of research and evaluation [PDF 3455.09 KB]
2019
- Prevalence of advance care planning documentation in Australian health and residential aged care services report [PDF 1971.31 KB]
- Accessibility of advance care plans in Victoria [PDF 1312.96 KB]
2017
Current research projects
Advance care directive prevalence study project
During 2018-20, we've been funded by the Australian Government to deliver the 'Prevalence of Advance Care Planning Documentation in Australian Health and Residential Aged Care Services' study. This study has collected a national dataset on the uptake of advance care planning documents across jurisdictions, sectors, medical conditions and services.
The findings of this study have implications for policy makers, stakeholder organisations, service providers and the community within Australia and internationally.
Research collaboration
We invite opportunities to partner with individuals and organisations pursuing research in similar areas of interests.
If you would like to collaborate on a research project, please contact us.