Representation agreements in British Columbia: who is using them and why?

Despite the passage of BC’s Representation Agreement Act in 2000, there have been no studies conducted to date to determine who is using these agreements and why. Three groups of individuals were interviewed: capable representation agreement holders (n=48), representatives of capable agreement holders (n=38), and representatives of agreement holders no longer capable (n=7). Study participants differed from the general population of seniors in BC in terms of income and education but were similar to those using advance care planning tools in the United States. The data revealed interesting gender differences suggesting that men and women may enter into agreements for different reasons and have dissimilar expectations of how their wishes are to be carried out. Overall, this sample of representation agreement holders felt the agreements are a good idea and a means of ensuring their wishes are followed should they become incapable of making their own health care decisions.