Objectives

To explore the compliance of end-of-life (EOL) care preferences, and the facilitators and barriers of promoting quality of EOL care among older adults.

Design

A scoping review was used to identify key themes in the compliance of EOL care preferences among older adults.

Setting and participants

Studies published between 2009 and 2020 were identified from the Medline and Cochrane libraries. Eligible articles containing components related to the compliance of EOL care preferences among older adults were selected.

Measures

The eligible articles were thematically synthesized. Factors that affected the compliance of EOL care preferences among older adults were identified from the key components.

Results

In total, 35 articles were included to identify the key components in the compliance of EOL care preferences: (1) supportive policy, (2) supportive environment, (3) cultural characteristics, (4) advance care planning (ACP), (5) the concordance of EOL care preferences between patients and surrogate decision makers, (6) prognosis awareness, and (7) patient's health status and the type of disease. Facilitators for the compliance of EOL care preferences included enactment of relevant policy, sufficient care institutions, the utilization of ACP, and poor health status. Barriers included lack of supportive policy, different culture, and low utilization of ACP.

Conclusions/implications

The compliance of EOL care preferences was low among older adults. The compliance of EOL care preferences can be improved through relevant policy development and the utilization of ACP.