Improving Advance Care Planning by Preparing Diverse Seniors for Decision Making

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The objective of this proposal is to test whether a multi-media website (www.prepareforyourcare.org) that is focused on preparing older adults for communication and medical decision making can help people engage in advance care planning.

Detailed Description
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PREPARE is a website (www.prepareforyourcare.org) that teaches patients how to identify what is most important in life, how to communicate their preferences to clinicians and loved ones, and how to make informed decisions. It is written at a 5th grade level and includes voice-overs of text and closed captioning of videos that model advance care planning behaviors. The goal of this proposal is to test the efficacy of PREPARE plus an easy-to-read advance directive, versus an advance directive alone, to improve patient engagement in multiple advance care planning behaviors including discussions with surrogate decision makers and clinicians in addition to advance directive completion. The investigators will also determine whether PREPARE can empower and activate patients within clinical encounters with their clinicians and help to decrease health disparities in advance care planning.

Official Title
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Improving Advance Care Planning by Preparing Diverse Seniors for Decision Making

Conditions
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Chronic Disease

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: PREPARE Intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: English-speaking older adults (≥55 years) ≥ 2 chronic illnesses determined by International Classification of Diseases-9 (ICD-9) codes ≥ 2 visits with an outpatient primary care clinician at San Francisco General Hospital in the past year ≥2 additional outpatient/inpatient visits to San Francisco General Hospital in the past year Exclusion Criteria: deaf, blind, or demented as determined by ICD-9 codes too mentally or physically ill to participate as determined by their clinicians Moderate or severe cognitive impairment as determined by the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), and mild cognitive impairment as determined by the SPMSQ plus an abnormal Mini-Cog self-reported poor vision and inability to see the words on a newspaper lack of a telephone traveling or moving out of the area for ≥3 months during the study follow- up period

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 55 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: PREPARE intervention<br>The PREPARE arm will review the PREPARE website plus the easy-to-read advance directive (AD). Participants will review PREPARE on their own for ≥ 20 minutes with staff present to answer questions. During PREPARE, participants answer preference questions and make an action plan (i.e., commitment to engage in advance care planning). To ensure home access to PREPARE content, participants will be given a website login and PREPARE content in digital video disc (DVD), booklet, and pamphlet format as well as the action plan and AD. One to three days before a primary care visit, the PREPARE arm will receive a reminder to come to their appointment and to bring their action plan. | Behavioral: PREPARE Intervention<br>* At week 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, interviews (telephone or in person based on preference) by blinded staff will assess engagement in advance care planning(ACP), self-efficacy with ACP, and activation in and satisfaction with decision making. Blinded telephone interviews will also assess surrogate reports of patient engagement in ACP.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control<br>The Control arm will review an easy-to-read AD. Controls will review the AD for ≥ 15 minutes with study staff present to answer questions and will take the AD home to complete if desired. One to three days before a primary care visit, controls will receive a reminder to come to their appointment. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| New advance care planning documentation in the medical record | The primary outcome is documentation of ACP wishes in the medical record. ACP documentation for the purposes of this study includes legal advance directive forms or other documentation of patients wishes for medical care in clinical notes. | 15 months after study enrollment | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Self-reported engagement in advance care planning behaviors | Secondary outcomes were chosen to measure the full process of ACP. Using validated questionnaires, we will measure ACP behavior change processes, such as knowledge, contemplation, self-efficacy, and readiness, as well as several ACP actions, such as identifying a surrogate decision maker, identifying values and goals for medical care, choosing the level of leeway in surrogate decision making, discussing one's wishes with clinicians and surrogates, and documenting one's wishes in an advance directive. | 12 months from baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Advance care planning, Aging, Health communication, Health literacy, Medical decision making, primary care, vulnerable population, chronic illness