{"id":20619,"date":"2026-07-31T10:33:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/sessions\/advance-care-planning-in-neurocognitive-disorders-challenges-and-opportunities-in-french-general-practice\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T10:33:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:33:07","slug":"advance-care-planning-in-neurocognitive-disorders-challenges-and-opportunities-in-french-general-practice","status":"publish","type":"wsa_session","link":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/sessions\/advance-care-planning-in-neurocognitive-disorders-challenges-and-opportunities-in-french-general-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Advance Care Planning in Neurocognitive Disorders: Challenges and Opportunities in French General Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Advance Care Planning (ACP) is essential for supporting people living with neurocognitive disorders (NCDs), whose progressive decline in communication and decision-making capacity narrows the active participation in care preferences. In France, general practitioners (GPs) are often the first to identify and follow these patients, placing them in a key position to initiate ACP. Despite this, ACP remains inconsistently implemented, and its potential benefits are underused. \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bidentify the main challenges, barriers, and opportunities for improving ACP for people with NCDs in general practice.A narrative review was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, and French institutional sources. Publications from January 2015 to December 2024 were included if they addressed ACP, advance directives, NCDs, or general practice. Exclusion criteria were: opinion pieces without empirical basis, duplicates, and documents not addressing ACP in the context of primary care or cognitive disorders. The search used keywords as \u201cadvance care planning,\u201d \u201cadvance directives,\u201d \u201cprimary care,\u201d and \u201cneurocognitive disorders.\u201dTwenty-one sources were included (9 scientific articles, 12 institutional documents). ACP emerged as ethically and clinically valuable, ensuring care decisions remain aligned with patients\u2019 evolving preferences. Despite a legal framework in place since 2005, uptake is low: only 43% of French citizens know about ACP and just 18% have completed advance directives, highlighting limited awareness. GPs\u2014key actors due to their long-term patient relationships\u2014report insufficient training, lack of structured tools, and limited consultation time. Early, iterative ACP, initiated at diagnosis, revisited regularly, and supported by tools such as a designated healthcare proxy, appears essential to strengthen autonomy and improve end-of-life careImplementation of ACP in general practice is hindered by insufficient GP training, limited public awareness, and the absence of operational pathways suited to primary care constraints. Tailored ACP models are needed\u2014ones that are feasible within GP workflows, accessible to patients, and supported by clear national guidelines and tools.ACP can significantly improve care for people with NCDs. Enhancing GP training, increasing public awareness, and integrating structured ACP tools into routine practice are key priorities. Future research should assess practical, scalable ACP models suited to general practice and the progressive course of NCDs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-20619","wsa_session","type-wsa_session","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsa_session\/20619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsa_session"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wsa_session"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woncaeurope2026.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}