Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: A Multicenter Trial of a Shared Decision Support Intervention for Patients and Their Caregivers Offered Destination Therapy for End-Stage Heart Failure
Brief Summary: The left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is growing rapidly among people dying from end-stage heart failure who are unable to get a heart transplant. These patients elect to live out the remainder of their lives dependent on a partial artificial heart-so-called destination therapy (DT). Although patients may live longer with a DT LVAD, it poses many risks, including stroke, serious infection, and bleeding. Most of these patients have other medical problems that are not fixed by the DT LVAD. Patients must be connected to electricity at all times. A caregiver is required, which often places stress on loved ones. Therefore, the decision whether or not to get a DT LVAD is often an extremely difficult one. Unfortunately, our research shows problems with the way this medical decision is currently being made in hospitals across the United States. Hospitals that offer DT LVAD treatment do not follow a standard process. The forms, pamphlets, websites, and videos used to help patients and families are biased and too difficult for most people to understand. Lastly, this is an emotional and even scary decision for most patients and their families, but the process does not help them deal with these feelings.

Using feedback from patients, caregivers, clinicians, the study team made a paper and video decision aid to help people who are offered DT LVAD make this most difficult of decisions. Unlike the information that is now available, our decision aid focuses on options, fears, and the needs of caregivers, is balanced, and is paired with training for doctors and nurses on how to best talk about DT LVAD. The investigators now propose to test the effectiveness and implementation of this intervention. The investigators will apply the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) evaluative framework to a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized, controlled trial across 6 medical centers.

Aim 1. Evaluate the Reach and Effectiveness of the DT LVAD shared decision support intervention to improve patient and caregiver experiences.

Hypothesis 1a: The intervention will reach 90% of eligible patients. Hypothesis 1b: Post-implementation, patients and caregivers will have improved decision quality (greater knowledge and higher value-treatment concordance).

Aim 2. Assess the Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of the DT LVAD shared decision support intervention across multiple providers and settings.

Hypothesis 2: The intervention will be: adopted by key personnel; implemented consistently; and maintained after trial completion.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult patients who have advanced heart failure and are being evaluated for DT LVAD
* Caregivers of patients who are being evaluated for DT LVAD

Exclusion Criteria:

* Under 18 years of age
* Non-English Speaking
* Unable to consent
* Prisoner
* Already implanted with DT LVAD
B: Inclusion Criteria:

Patient participant:

* Patients must be 21 years old or older and must be diagnosed with advanced heart failure (New York Heart Association Class III and IV). Patients must be aware of their diagnosis
* Caregiver/Decision-maker participant: Subject must be 21 years old or older Participant must be either

  * appointed substitute decision maker or
  * most likely to be substitute decision maker for patient (if patient were to lose decision-making capacity)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patient participant: Patients must not have any psychiatric or cognitive disorders
* Caregiver/Decision-maker participant: Cannot be a maid or foreign domestic worker
C: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Able to read and understand English
2. NYHF III/IV heart failure (physician-determined)

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Dementia or significant confusion (Callahan 6-Item Cognitive Screening score ≤ 3)
2. DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or active substance use disorder)
3. Patients will not be excluded if they do not identify a caregiver
4. Uncorrectable hearing loss.
D: Patients with a confirmed diagnosis in accordance with the criteria proposed by the European Society of Cardiology and with NYHA III-IV symptoms. And at least one of following criteria;

1. At least one episode of worsening heart failure that resolved with injection / infusion of diuretics or the addition of other heart failure treatment in the last 6 months and regarded optimally treated according to the responsible physician.
2. Need for infusions-treatment.
3. Chronic poor quality of life (VAS \< 50)
4. Signs of cardiac cachexia (involuntary non-oedematous weight loss ≥ 6% of total body weight within the last 6-12 months)
5. less than one year life expectancy.

Exclusion Criteria:

Ineligible are patients:

1. who do not want to participate in the study;
2. with severe communication problems;
3. with severe dementia;
4. with other serious disease in which heart failure is of secondary importance;
5. with other life-threatening illness as the primary diagnosis with expected short survival;
6. when the Primary Care Center which is responsible for patient care is geographically located from more than 30 km radius outside the hospital; and
7. participating in another clinical trial. -

Answer: A