scholarly journals Evaluating an Advance Care Planning Skills Training for Medical, Nursing, and Social Work Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 243-243
Author(s):  
Todd Becker ◽  
John Cagle

Abstract Advance care planning (ACP) helps to ensure future healthcare is congruent with individual preferences. Curricula for health-focused professions rarely include ACP content. This is a repeated measures evaluation of an innovative, interprofessional student training to enhance the ability to lead ACP discussions. Outcomes were measured via self-report surveys at two timepoints (baseline = T1 [n = 35]; posttraining follow-up = T2 [n = 20]) and included validated measures of communication self-efficacy, ACP self-efficacy, and interprofessional teamwork. Data collection from a third timepoint (T3), following randomized group assignment is currently underway. The matched T1–T2 sample (N = 17) included students from medicine (64.7%), nursing (17.6%), and social work (17.6%). Participants were largely young (M=26 years), non-Hispanic (94.0%), White (59.0%), and female (71.0%). Paired t tests examined change from T1 to T2 for all outcomes. Despite worse communication self-efficacy (Mdiff=1.6, p<.001) and ACP self-efficacy (Mdiff=.92, p<.001), perceptions of interprofessional teamwork improved (Mdiff=3.0, p=.008). These T1–T2 findings mirror results from similar, prior research, which subsequently discovered that both self-efficacy outcomes and their effect sizes for change worsened at T2, but ultimately and substantially improved at T3. These fluctuations suggest participants initially overestimated their self-efficacy related to ACP at T1 and corrected their appraisals at T2. Other studies should account for this self-correction. Further replication is needed to understand the dip that appears to occur before anticipated improvements occur.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 100382
Author(s):  
Leah S. Millstein ◽  
John Allen ◽  
Melissa H. Bellin ◽  
Steven R. Eveland ◽  
Danielle Baek ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 096973302199418
Author(s):  
Gilissen Joni ◽  
Wendrich-van Dael Annelien ◽  
Gastmans Chris ◽  
Vander Stichele Robert ◽  
Deliens Luc ◽  
...  

Background A team-based approach has been advocated for advance care planning in nursing homes. While nurses are often put forward to take the lead, it is not clear to what extent other professions could be involved as well. Objectives To examine to what extent engagement in advance care planning practices (e.g. conversations, advance directives), knowledge and self-efficacy differ between nurses, care assistants and allied care staff in nursing homes. Design Survey study. Participants/setting The study involved a purposive sample of 14 nursing homes in Flanders, Belgium. Nurses, care assistants and allied care staff (e.g. social workers, physical therapists) completed a survey. Ethical considerations The study was approved by the University Hospital of Brussels (B.U.N. 143201834759), as part of a cluster randomized controlled trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03521206). Results One hundred ninety-six nurses, 319 care assistants and 169 allied staff participated (67% response rate). After adjusting for confounders, nurses were significantly more likely than care assistants to have carried out advance care planning conversations (odds ratio 4; 95% confidence interval 1.73–9.82; p < 0.001) and documented advance care planning (odds ratio 2.67; 95% confidence interval 1.29–5.56; p < 0.001); differences not found between allied staff and care assistants. Advance care planning knowledge total scores differed significantly, with nurses (estimated mean difference 0.13 (score range 0–1); 95% confidence interval 0.08–0.17; p < 0.001) and allied staff (estimated mean difference 0.07; 95% confidence interval 0.03–0.12; p < 0.001) scoring higher than care assistants. We found no significant differences regarding self-efficacy. Discussion While nursing home nurses conducted more advance care planning conversations and documentation than allied care staff and care assistants, these two professional groups may be a valuable support to nurses in conducting advance care planning, if provided with additional training. Conclusions Allied care staff and care assistants, if trained appropriately, can be involved more strongly in advance care planning to enhance relational and individual autonomy of nursing home residents, alongside nurses. Future research to improve and implement advance care planning should consider this finding at the intervention development stage.


Author(s):  
Jung Kwak ◽  
Soyeon Cho ◽  
George Handzo ◽  
Brian P. Hughes ◽  
Sami S. Hasan ◽  
...  

Background: Healthcare chaplains have key roles in providing palliative support to patients and families, and they are well-suited to facilitate advance care planning (ACP). However, empirical data on the roles and responsibilities of chaplains in facilitating ACP are limited. Objectives: To examine the roles of board-certified healthcare chaplains in ACP in various healthcare settings. Methods: A cross-sectional, web-based self-report survey was conducted with 585 board-certified chaplains recruited from 3 major professional chaplains’ organizations in the U.S. The survey data included chaplains’ demographic and professional characteristics, their roles and responsibilities, and responses regarding communication and participation with other healthcare team members in facilitating ACP, including experienced barriers. Results: More participants worked in community hospital settings (42%) and academic medical centers (19.6%) than in any other setting. Over 90% viewed ACP as an important part of their work, 70% helped patients complete advance directives, and 90% helped patients discuss their preferences about end-of-life treatments. Many chaplains were not consistently included in team discussions regarding decision-making, although most chaplains reported that they could always find ways to communicate with their teams. Conclusion: Professional board-certified chaplains regularly engage in facilitating ACP discussions with patients and families in various healthcare settings. There is a need to recognize and provide systematic support for the role of chaplains in facilitating ACP conversations and to integrate chaplains into routine interdisciplinary team and family meetings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S151-S152
Author(s):  
Maureen E Barrientos ◽  
Anna Chodos ◽  
Alicia Neumann ◽  
Yvonne Troya ◽  
Pei Chen

Abstract Currently, an important measure of Advance Care Planning (ACP), Advance Health Care Directives (AHCD) documentation rate, is at 33% for older adults in the United States. To address this disparity, geriatric faculty in an academic geriatric primary care practice aimed to train geriatrics fellows and other interprofessional (IP) learners to engage patients in ACP. As part of a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, geriatrics faculty and the Medical Legal Partnership for Seniors based at University of California Hastings College of Law provided ACP training to fellows and IP learners, including social work interns. In practice, the fellows and social work interns collaborated to incorporate ACP into patient visits and follow-up telephone calls. To monitor ACP progress, research staff reviewed patients’ electronic health records and performed descriptive analysis of the data. In 21 months, 4 geriatrics fellows built a panel of 59 patients who on average had 3 office visits and 7 telephone calls per person. Prior to clinic enrollment, 12 (20.3%) patients had preexisting AHCD, and 47 lacked AHCD documentation. After ACP intervention, 42 of 47 patients without AHCD documentation engaged in ACP discussion. Of those who engaged in ACP discussion, 24 completed AHCD, raising AHCD completion rate to 61%, or 36 patients in the panel of 59. ACP is a complex process that benefits from skilled communication among interprofessional providers and patients. Findings underscore the potential advantages of IP training and engaging patients in ACP discussion in an academic primary care setting.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (30) ◽  
pp. 4933-4938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl A. Lorenz ◽  
Joanne Lynn ◽  
Sydney Dy ◽  
Anne Wilkinson ◽  
Richard A. Mularski ◽  
...  

Purpose Measuring quality of care for symptom management and ascertaining patient goals offers an important step toward improving palliative cancer management. This study was designed to identify systematically the quality measures and the evidence to support their use in pain, dyspnea, depression, and advance care planning (ACP), and to identify research gaps. Methods English-language documents were selected from MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, PsycINFO (1995 to 2005); Internet-based searches; and contact with measure developers. We used terms for each domain to select studies throughout the cancer care continuum. We included measures that expressed a normative relationship to quality, specified the target population, and specified the indicated care. Dual data review and abstraction was performed by palliative care researchers describing populations, testing, and attributes for each measure. Results A total of 4,599 of 5,182 titles were excluded at abstract review. Of 537 remaining articles, 19 contained measures for ACP, six contained measures for depression, five contained measures for dyspnea, and 20 contained measures for pain. We identified 10 relevant measure sets that included 36 fully specified or fielded measures and 14 additional measures (16 for pain, five for dyspnea, four for depression, and 25 for ACP). Most measures were unpublished, and few had been tested in a cancer population. We were unable to describe the specifications of all measures fully and did not search for measures for pain and depression that were not cancer specific. Conclusion Measures are available for assessing quality and guiding improvement in palliative cancer care. Existing measures are weighted toward ACP, and more nonpain symptom measures are needed. Additional testing is needed before the measures are used for accountability, and basic research is required to address measurement when self-report is impaired.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin R. Baughman ◽  
Ruth Ludwick ◽  
Rebecca Fischbein ◽  
Kenelm McCormick ◽  
James Meeker ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin R. Baughman ◽  
Ruth Ludwick ◽  
Rebecca Fischbein ◽  
Kenelm McCormick ◽  
James Meeker ◽  
...  

Background: Although patients prefer that physicians initiate advance care planning (ACP) conversations, few physicians regularly do so. Physicians may be reluctant to initiate ACP conversations because they lack self-efficacy in their skills. Yet, no validated scale on self-efficacy for ACP exists. Our objective was to develop a scale that measures physicians’ ACP self-efficacy (ACP-SE) and to investigate the validity of the tool. Methods: Electronic questionnaires were administered to a random sample of family medicine physicians (n = 188). Exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine whether the scale was multidimensional. An initial assessment of the scale’s validity was also conducted. Results: The exploratory factor analysis indicated that a single factor was appropriate using all 17 items. A single, unidimensional scale was created by averaging the 17 items, yielding good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.95). The average scale score was 3.94 (standard deviation = 0.71) on a scale from 1 to 5. The scale was moderately correlated with a global single-item measure of self-efficacy for ACP ( r = .79, P < .001), and the scale differentiated between physician groups based on how much ACP they were doing, how recently they had an ACP conversation, formal training on ACP, and knowledge of ACP. In a multivariate analysis, the ACP-SE scale was a strong predictor of the percentage of patients with chronic life-limiting diseases with whom the physician discussed ACP. Conclusion: The final ACP-SE scale included 17 items and demonstrated high internal consistency.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Otis-Green ◽  
Judy Thomas ◽  
Lael Duncan ◽  
Anne Walling ◽  
Codie Lieto ◽  
...  

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