Use of Advance Directives to Facilitate Supported Decision-making in Mental Healthcare: Learnings From Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Mental health advance directives are one mechanism to enable individuals to have a voice in their treatment at a time when most legislative systems would consider them to lack the capacity to make informed choices. This honours their will and preferences while at the same time recognising the difficulties of the legislative framework. In this review we consider the use of such advance directives in New Zealand, in the form of a specialised advance agreement known as a mental health advance preference statement (MAPS). By evaluating their development and considering their ethics and cultural components we offer insights into one approach to the creation and implementation of MAPS for other jurisdictions.