Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Preparing Older Veterans With Serious and Chronic Illness for Decision Making
Brief Summary: Millions of diverse Veterans live with severe and chronic illness for which they will face complex, ongoing decisions. Although the VHA has been at the forefront of patient-centered chronic care, interventions to prepare Veterans for complex decision-making over the course of chronic illness are lacking. This proposal addresses this gap by testing the efficacy of a novel preparation guide designed to prepare Veterans to communicate with their surrogates and to work with clinicians to make complex, ongoing decisions. The multi-media guide teaches communication and preparation skill behaviors (e.g., how to choose a surrogate and ask clinicians questions) in a culturally appropriate, easy-to-use format (targeted to a 5th grade reading level). This study aims to provide an impetus for changing the paradigm of advance care planning policies within the VA by moving beyond documentation of end-of-life wishes to the activation of Veterans to participate in ongoing communication of their values and goals - a process that is essential to fully realize patient-centered care.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patient of target practices for at least 1 yr defined as having one office visit within preceding 12 month
* Home ZIP code including ANY of the following: 1. 19104 2. 19131 3. 19139 4. 19143 5. 19146
* 2 or more of the following conditions: 1. Obesity (BMI greater than 30), 2. HTN (ICD9 relating to HTN in EMR), 3. DM (ICD9 relating to DM in EMR), 4. Asthma/COPD and tobacco dependence (ICD9 for asthma or COPD in EMR AND documentation of tobacco use)
* Uninsured, insured by Medicaid or dually eligible for Medicaid/Managed Medicare
* Patients who have scheduled appointments in the future.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Will not provide informed consent for this study.
* Does not have the capacity to provide informed consent for this study.
* Previously enrolled in this study
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Receiving care from the home care team
* Faced the decision about whether to stay at home or move to a care facility in the previous 3 to 6 months
* Able to read, understand and write french or english
* Able to give informed consent
* For the case of clients unable to provide informed consent, their caregivers who was involved into decision making process will be eligible

Exclusion Criteria:

* Clients who cannot provide informed consent (e. g. clients with cognitive impairment) without a caregiver
* Clients who require acute care hospitalization and whom the location of care decision is transferred to hospital-based social services
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* Veterans
* 60 years of age
* who have been seen in the General Medicine, Geriatrics, and Women's Clinics twice in the past year
* and have 2 or more serious or chronic medical conditions as determined by ICD-9 codes

Exclusion Criteria:

* Veterans will be excluded if they are:

  * deaf
  * blind
  * demented
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Aged 65 years and older
* Medicare Part A and B traditional, fee for service insurance coverage
* One or more of the following chronic conditions:
* Heart failure
* Coronary Disease
* Diabetes mellitus
* Asthma
* Hypertension
* Hypercholesterolemia
* A Geriatric Risk Stratification Level of 2 or more based on a pre-enrollment screening tool
* Geriatric Risk Stratification Level changed in Sep 2006 to a Level of 3 or more
* Willingness of the participant's primary care provider to collaborate

Exclusion Criteria:

* Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
* Alzheimer's disease
* Dementia
* Diagnosis or history of cancer (other than skin) in the past 5 years
* End-stage renal disease
* Life expectancy on enrollment less than 6 months
* HIV or AIDS
* Huntington's disease
* Organ transplant candidate
* Psychosis or schizophrenia
* Resident of or imminent plan for long-term nursing home placement
* Seasonal relocation outside of the area for more than 4 weeks per year
* Anyone receiving service from Health Quality Partners in the past

Answer: C