How do nursing home doctors involve patients and next of kin in end-of-life decisions? A qualitative study from Norway

The Involvement of Caregivers in the End-of-life Care of an Older Adult Living in a Long-term Care Home: A Qualitative Case Study with Nurses and Relatives

BACKGROUND

A key role of nurses working in long-term care homes (LTCHs) is to promote the involvement of care partners in end-of-life (EOL) care. However, studies on the involvement of care partners in EOL care in LTCHs have focused on care planning and decision-making. While care partners can participate in other ways, it's unclear how they are currently involved in EOL care by staff.

PURPOSE

We aimed to explore the involvement of care partners in the EOL care of an older adult living in a LTCH.

METHODS

A qualitative case study was conducted. Data was collected from a sample of four nurses and three care partners, using sociodemographic questionnaires, individual semi-structured interviews, documents pertaining to the LTCH's philosophy for EOL care, and a field diary.

RESULTS

The results of a thematic analysis showed the broad scope of care partners' possible involvement, including contributing to care, obtaining information, and being present. As there was some variation in care partners' desire to be involved, nurses seemed to rely on them to convey their wishes. To promote this involvement, some strategies aimed at health professionals and managers were suggested.

CONCLUSIONS

These results can guide improvement in clinical practices and raise awareness on the EOL care experiences of care partners.

Areas of consensus on unwarranted and warranted transfers between nursing homes and emergency care facilities in Norway: a Delphi study

BACKGROUND

Transferring residents from nursing homes (NHs) to emergency care facilities (ECFs) is often questioned as many are terminally ill and have access to onsite care. While some NH to ECF transfers have merit, avoiding other transfers may benefit residents and reduce healthcare system costs and provider burden. Despite many years of research in this area, differentiating warranted (i.e., appropriate) from unwarranted NH to ECF transfers remains challenging. In this article, we report consensus on warranted and unwarranted NH to ECF transfers scenarios.

METHODS

A Delphi study was used to identify consensus regarding warranted and unwarranted NH to ECF transfers. Delphi participants included nurses (RNs) and medical doctors (MDs) from NHs, out-of-hours primary care clinics (OOHs), and hospital-based emergency departments. A list of 12 scenarios and 11 medical conditions was generated from the existing literature on causes and medical conditions leading to transfers, and pilot tested and refined prior to conducting the study. Three Delphi rounds were conducted, and data were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics.

RESULTS

Seventy-nine experts consented to participate, of whom 56 (71%) completed all three Delphi rounds. Participants reached high or very high consensus on when to not transfer residents, except for scenarios regarding delirium, where only moderate consensus was attained. Conversely, except when pain relieving surgery was required, participants reached low agreement on scenarios depicting warranted NH to ECF transfers. Consensus opinions differ significantly between health professionals, participant gender, and rurality, for seven of the 23 transfer scenarios and medical conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Transfers from nursing homes to emergency care facilities can be defined as warranted, discretionary, and unwarranted. These categories are based on the areas of consensus found in this Delphi study and are intended to operationalize the terms warranted and unwarranted transfers between nursing homes and emergency care facilities.

Implementation of advance care planning in the routine care for acutely admitted patients in geriatric units: protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Acutely ill and frail older adults and their next of kin are often poorly involved in treatment and care decisions. This may lead to either over- or undertreatment and unnecessary burdens. The aim of this project is to improve user involvement and health services for frail older adults living at home, and their relatives, by implementing advance care planning (ACP) in selected hospital wards, and to evaluate the clinical and the implementation interventions.

METHODS

This is a cluster randomized trial with 12 hospital units. The intervention arm receives implementation support for 18 months; control units receive the same support afterwards. The ACP intervention consists of 1. Clinical intervention: ACP; 2. Implementation interventions: Implementation team, ACP coordinator, network meetings, training and supervision for health care personnel, documentation tools and other resources, and fidelity measurements with tailored feedback; 3. Implementation strategies: leadership commitment, whole ward approach and responsive evaluation. Fidelity will be measured three times in the intervention arm and twice in the control arm. Here, the primary outcome is the difference in fidelity changes between the arms. We will also include 420 geriatric patients with one close relative and an attending clinician in a triadic sub-study. Here, the primary outcomes are quality of communication and decision-making when approaching the end of life as perceived by patients and next of kin, and congruence between the patient's preferences for information and involvement and the clinician's perceptions of the same. For patients we will also collect clinical data and health register data. Additionally, all clinical staff in both arms will be invited to answer a questionnaire before and during the implementation period. To explore barriers and facilitators and further explore the significance of ACP, qualitative interviews will be performed in the intervention units with patients, next of kin, health care personnel and implementation teams, and with other stakeholders up to national level. Lastly, we will evaluate resource utilization, costs and health outcomes in a cost-effectiveness analysis.

DISCUSSION

The project may contribute to improved implementation of ACP as well as valuable knowledge and methodological developments in the scientific fields of ACP, health service research and implementation science.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT05681585. Registered 03.01.23.

Methods to elicit and evaluate the attainment of patient goals in older adults: A scoping review

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review aimed to identify patient goal elicitation and evaluation methods for older adults, and to investigate which methods can be used in medication optimization interventions for nursing home residents (NHRs).

METHODS

The Arksey and O'Malley framework guided the review. A search was launched in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science. Reference selection and data extraction were performed by three independent reviewers, followed by team discussions to solve discrepancies. Inductive thematic analysis was applied to synthesize the data. Included papers were reconsidered to identify methods for medication optimization interventions for NHRs.

RESULTS

Ninety-six references, encompassing 38 elicitation and 12 evaluation methods, were included. Elicitation methods differed in structure, content, and patient involvement levels. Qualitative and quantitative methods were found to assess goal attainment. Five elicitation and three evaluation methods were developed for NHRs, but none of these contained a medication-related assessment.

CONCLUSION

A variety of goal elicitation and evaluation methods for older adults was found, but none for medication optimization interventions in NHRs.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

A holistic approach seems important to integrate patient goals into medication optimization interventions, not limiting goal elicitation to a medication-related assessment. Also, the choice of assessor seems important to obtain patient goals.

Barriers and facilitators of appropriate antibiotic use in primary care institutions after an antibiotic quality improvement program - a nested qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Antibiotic prescribing by physicians in primary care institutions is common and affected by several factors. Diagnosis and treatment of infections in a nursing home (NH) resident is challenging, with the risk of both under- and overtreatment. Identifying barriers and facilitators of appropriate antibiotic prescribing in NHs and municipal acute care units (MACUs) is essential to ensure the most adequate antibiotic treatment possible and develop future antibiotic stewardship programs.

METHODS

After implementing a one-year antibiotic quality improvement program, we conducted six semi-structured focus group interviews with physicians (n = 11) and nurses (n = 14) in 10 NHs and 3 MACUs located in the county of Østfold, Norway. We used a semi-structured interview guide covering multiple areas influencing antibiotic use to identify persistent barriers and facilitators of appropriate antibiotic prescribing after the intervention. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The content analysis was performed following the six phases of thematic analysis developed by Braun and Clarke.

RESULTS

We identified thirteen themes containing barriers and facilitators of the appropriateness of antibiotic use in primary care institutions. The themes were grouped into four main levels: Barriers and facilitators 1) at the clinical level, 2) at the resident level, 3) at the next of kin level, and 4) at the organisational level. Unclear clinical presentation of symptoms and lack of diagnostic possibilities were described as essential barriers to appropriate antibiotic use. At the same time, increased availability of the permanent nursing home physician and early and frequent dialogue with the residents' next of kin were emphasized as facilitators of appropriate antibiotic use. The influence of nurses in the decision-making process regarding infection diagnostics and treatment was by both professions described as profound.

CONCLUSIONS

Our qualitative study identified four main levels containing several barriers and facilitators of appropriate antibiotic prescribing in Norwegian NHs and MACUs. Diagnostic uncertainty, frequent dialogue with next of kin and organisational factors should be targeted in future antibiotic stewardship programs in primary care institutions. In addition, for such programs to be as effective as possible, nurses should be included on equal terms with physicians.

Resident and informal caregiver involvement in medication-related decision-making and the medicines' pathway in nursing homes: experiences and perceived opportunities of healthcare professionals

BACKGROUND

Person-centered care has been shown to be beneficial for nursing home residents. The know-how and attitude of healthcare professionals, however, can make its implementation difficult. Also, research on person-centered care with regard to medication decision-making and the medicines' pathway in nursing homes is lacking. This study aimed to provide an understanding of healthcare professionals' attitudes and perspectives on current resident and informal caregiver involvement in medication decision-making and the medicines' pathway in nursing homes.

METHODS

A qualitative, explorative study using semi-structured interviews with a sample of 25 healthcare professionals from four different nursing homes was performed. Interview transcripts were analyzed by means of an inductive thematic framework.

RESULTS

Three overarching domains were identified: 1) features of, 2) drivers and barriers for, and 3) perceived consequences of resident and informal caregiver involvement in medication decision-making and the medicines' pathway. Involvement was mainly initiated by residents and informal caregivers themselves, pointing towards information and participation needs among both groups. Nevertheless, actions of healthcare professionals towards resident and informal caregiver involvement were mainly reactive and fragmentary. Their actions were influenced by the perception of residents and informal caregivers' desire and capabilities to be involved, the perception of their own professional role, but also by organizational factors such as the nursing home's philosophy. Furthermore, organizational concerns tempered the motivation to provide residents and informal caregivers with more medication-related responsibilities.

CONCLUSIONS

Resident and informal caregiver involvement in medication decision-making and the medicines' pathway remains limited in nursing homes. Information and participation needs of residents and informal caregivers were not fully acknowledged by healthcare professionals. As such, we can conclude that there is a need for initiatives, both on an individual and on an organizational level, to create and improve awareness on opportunities to improve resident and informal caregiver involvement in medication decision-making and the medicines' pathway.

The role of end-of-life communication in contributing to palliative-oriented care at the end-of-life in nursing home

BACKGROUND

Clear communication about a person's poor prognosis and limited treatment choices improves the quality of end-of-life care.

AIMS

To investigate how end-of-life communication may contribute to palliative-oriented care at the end-of-life in nursing homes according to both families' and nurses' perspective. Secondly, to identify the contextual factors internal to the nursing home that may influence the timing and quality of communication. Thirdly, to confirm the foundations for a first theory of end-of-life communication.

METHOD

This study is a descriptive two-tailed embedded multiple-case study. A secondary analysis of 23 family carer-nurse paired interviews was performed.

FINDINGS

Several contextual factors influenced the timing and quality of communication that, in turn, impacted end-of-life care by promoting family understanding, fostering shared decision-making between healthcare professionals and resident/family carers, and improving the knowledge of residents' and family carers' preferences (ie drivers of transition towards palliative-oriented care). Family carers' preferences had the strongest influence in guiding the care approach, while residents' preferences were poorly known and had a limited impact on the end-of-life care goal. Complex and dynamic interactions within and between drivers and contextual factors emerged, providing preliminary evidence for a first end-of-life communication theory.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest the need to promote a familiar atmosphere and quality relationships, and improve the knowledge of a resident's preferences to ensure that end-of-life care is consistent with their desires.

Positive attitudes to advance care planning - a Norwegian general population survey

Background

Authorities recommend advance care planning and public acceptance of it is a prerequisite for widespread implementation. Therefore, we did the first study of the Norwegian public with an aim of getting knowledge on their attitudes to issues related to advance care planning.

Methods

An electronic survey to a nationally representative web panel of Norwegian adults.

Results

From 1035 complete responses (response rate 40.7%), we found that more than nine out of ten of the general public wanted to participate in advance care planning, believed it to be useful for many, and wanted to make important healthcare decisions themselves. Almost nine out of ten wanted to be accompanied by next of kin during advance care planning. Most (69%) wanted health care personnel to initiate advance care planning and preferred it to be timed to serious illness with limited lifetime (68%). Only about 9% stated that health care personnel should have the final say in healthcare decisions in serious illness.

Conclusions

Developing and implementing advance care planning as a public health initiative seems warranted based on the results of this study. Patient perspectives should be promoted in decision-making processes. Nevertheless, training of health care personnel should emphasise voluntariness and an individual approach to initiating, timing and conducting advance care planning because of individual variations.

Nursing home residents with cognitive impairment can participate in advance care planning: A qualitative study

AIMS

To describe advance care planning in nursing homes when residents with cognitive impairment and/or their next of kin participated and identify associated challenges.

DESIGN

A qualitative study of nine advance care planning conversations in four Norwegian nursing home wards. During the implementation of advance care planning, we purposively sampled residents with cognitive impairment, their next of kin and healthcare personnel. The implementation followed a "whole-ward" approach aimed at involving the whole ward in fostering an inclusive, holistic advance care planning discussion. Involving as many residents as possible, preferably together with their next of kin, were central.

METHODS

From observed and audio-recorded advance care planning conversations that took place from November 2015 to June 2016, we conducted a thematic analysis of the transcripts and field notes. Reporting adhered to the COREQ guidelines.

RESULTS

Residents actively relayed their preferences regarding healthcare and end-of-life issues, despite the cognitive impairment. Next of kin provided constructive support and conversations were largely resident-focused. However, involving residents was also challenging, findings included: residents' preferences were often vague, relevant medical information from healthcare personnel lacked and the next of kin were sometimes unaware of the resident's previously held preferences. Moreover, residents tended to focus more on the past and present than the future end-of-life care.

CONCLUSIONS

Residents with cognitive impairment can participate actively and meaningfully in advance care planning, if the healthcare personnel actively listens. However, several challenges can arise. Supported decision-making can improve communication and resident involvement, reinforcing a relational understanding of autonomy.

IMPACT

Persons with cognitive impairment should be invited to participate in advance care planning. Their participation may make its benefits and more person-centred care attainable to persons that are often not involved. Successful involvement of persons with cognitive impairment in advance care planning may rely on robust implementation.

Understanding the Outcomes of Supplementary Support Services in Palliative Care for Older People. A Scoping Review and Mapping Exercise

CONTEXT

Supplementary support services in palliative care for older people are increasingly common, but with neither recommended tools to measure outcomes nor reviews synthesizing anticipated outcomes. Common clinically focused tools may be less appropriate.

OBJECTIVES

To identify stakeholder perceptions of key outcomes from supplementary palliative care support services, then map these onto outcome measurement tools to assess relevance and item redundancy.

METHODS

A scoping review using the design by Arksey and O'Malley. EMBASE, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PSYCHinfo searched using terms relating to palliative care, qualitative research, and supplementary support interventions. Articles were imported into Endnote™, and Covidence™ was used by two reviewers to assess against inclusion criteria. Included articles were imported into NVivo™ and thematically coded to identify key concepts underpinning outcomes. Each item within contender outcome measurement tools was assessed against each concept.

RESULTS

Sixty included articles focused on advance care planning, guided conversations, and volunteer befriending services. Four concepts were identified: enriching relationships; greater autonomy and perceived control; knowing more; and improved mental health. Mapping concepts to contender tool items revealed issues of relevance and redundancy. Some tools had no redundant items but mapped only to two of four outcome themes; others mapped to all concepts, but with many redundant questions. Tools such as ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure and McGill Quality of Life had high relevance and low redundancy.

CONCLUSION

Pertinent outcome concepts for these services and population are not well represented in commonly used outcome measurement tools, and this may have implications in appropriately measuring outcomes. This review and mapping method may have utility in fields where selecting appropriate outcome tools can be challenging.

A qualitative study of nurses' perspective about the impact of end-of-life communication on the goal of end-of-life care in nursing home

BACKGROUND

With a growing nursing home population suffering from chronic progressive illnesses and evolving patterns of comorbidities, end-of-life communication takes on a critical role to enable healthcare professionals to gather information about the resident's wishes for care at the end-of-life and organise the care plan accordingly.

AIM

To explore nurses' perspective about the process by which end-of-life communication impacts on the goal of end-of-life care in nursing home residents.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive research design based on thematic analysis was performed. Fourteen nurses involved in the care of residents during their last week of life were recruited across 13 Italian nursing homes and accounted for 34 semi-structured interviews. A combined approach of analysis that incorporated a data-driven inductive approach and a theory-driven one was adopted.

RESULTS

Twelve themes described how end-of-life communication may contribute to adjust the care plan in nursing home according to the nurses' perspective. Five antecedents (i.e. life crisis or transitions, patient-centered environment, arising the question of possible dying, quality of relationships and culture of care) influenced the establishment and quality of communication, and five attributes depicted the characteristics and potential mechanisms of end-of-life communication (i.e. healthcare professional-resident and healthcare professional-family carers communication, knowledge of family carers' preferences, knowledge of residents' preferences, family carers and residents understanding, and shared decision-making), while curative-oriented and palliative-oriented care goals emerged as consequences.

CONCLUSION

This study provides insight into the nursing perspective of end-of-life communication between healthcare professionals and bereaved family carers of nursing home residents. Several factors influenced the occurrence and quality of end-of-life communication, which contributed to the transition towards palliative-oriented care by using and improving knowledge about family cares' and resident's preferences for end-of-life care, promoting family carers and residents understanding about prognosis and treatments available, and fostering shared decision-making.

Improving shared decision-making in advance care planning: Implementation of a cluster randomized staff intervention in dementia care

OBJECTIVE

Increasing staff engagement level of shared decision-making in advance care planning for persons with dementia in nursing homes. Perceived importance, competence and frequency of staff members applying shared decision-making were measured. Additionally, facilitators and barriers in the implementation process were described.

METHODS

In this pretest-posttest cluster randomized trial, 311 staff members from 65 Belgian nursing home wards participated. Key components of the intervention were knowledge on shared decision-making, role-play exercises and internal policies on advance care planning. Audio recordings of advance care planning conversations between residents, families and staff were compared before and after the intervention. Participants filled in questionnaires and provided feedback.

RESULTS

Wards demonstrated a higher level of shared decision-making after the intervention (p < 0.001) while time spent on the conversations did not increase. This effect persisted at 6 months follow-up (p < 0.001). Participants perceived shared decision-making as more important (p = 0.031) and felt more competent (p = 0.010), though frequency of use did not change (p = 0.201). High staff turnover and difficult co-operation with GP's were barriers.

CONCLUSION

Nursing home staff benefits from this training in shared decision-making.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Learning shared decision-making in advance care planning for persons with dementia is possible and sustainable in the time-constricted context of nursing homes.

Improved patient participation through advance care planning in nursing homes-A cluster randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

To improve patient participation in advance care planning in nursing homes where most patients have some degree of cognitive impairment.

METHODS

This was a pair-matched cluster randomized clinical trial with eight wards in eight Norwegian nursing homes. We randomized one ward from each of the matched pairs to the intervention group. We included all patients above 70. The primary outcome was prevalence of documented patient participation in end-of-life treatment conversations. The intervention included implementation support using a whole-ward approach where regular staff perform advance care planning and invite all patients and next of kin to participate.

RESULTS

In intervention group wards the patients participated more often in end-of-life treatment conversations (p < 0.001). Moreover, the patient's preferences, hopes AND worries (p = 0,006) were more often documented, and concordance between provided TREATMENT and patient preferences (p = 0,037) and next of kin participation in advance care planning with the patient (p = 0,056) increased.

CONCLUSION

Improved patient participation - also when cognitively impaired - is achievable through advance care planning in nursing homes using a whole-ward approach.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Patients with cognitive impairment should be included in advance care planning supported by next of kin. A whole-ward approach may be used to implement advance care planning.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN registry (ID ISRCTN69571462) - retrospectively registered.

Good end-of-life care in nursing home according to the family carers' perspective: A systematic review of qualitative findings

BACKGROUND

Nursing homes are becoming a common site where delivering end-of-life care for older adults. They often represent the junction between the curative and the palliative phase.

AIM

To identify the elements that nursing home residents' family carers perceive as good end-of-life care and develop a conceptual model of good end-of-life care according to the family perspective.

DESIGN

Systematic review (PROSPERO no. 95581) with meta-aggregation method.

DATA SOURCES

Five electronic databases were searched from inception between April and May 2018. Published qualitative studies (and mixed-method designs) of end-of-life care experience of nursing home family carers whose relative was dead or at the end-of-life were included. No language or temporal limits were applied.

RESULTS

In all, 18 studies met inclusion criteria. A 'life crisis' often resulted in a changed need of care, and the transition towards palliative care was sustained by a 'patient-centered environment'. Family carers described good end-of-life care as providing resident basic care and spiritual support; recognizing and treating symptoms; assuring continuity in care; respecting resident's end-of-life wishes; offering environmental, emotional and psychosocial support; keeping family informed; promoting family understanding; and establishing a partnership with family carers by involving and guiding them in a shared decision-making. These elements improved the quality of end-of-life of both residents and their family, thus suggesting a common ground between good end-of-life care and palliative care.

CONCLUSION

The findings provide a family-driven framework to guide a sensitive and compassionate transition towards palliative care in nursing home.

Association Between End-of-Life Conversations in Nursing Homes and End-of-Life Care Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Less aggressive end-of-life (EOL) care has been observed when health care professionals discuss approaching EOL and preferences about life-sustaining treatments with nursing home (NH) residents or their families. We performed a comprehensive systematic review to evaluate the association between health care professionals-residents and health care professionals-family EOL conversations and EOL care outcomes.

DESIGN

Systematic review with meta-analysis.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Seven databases were searched in December 2017 to find studies that focused on health care professionals-residents (without oncologic disease) and health care professionals-family EOL conversations and aimed to explore the impact of EOL conversations on resident's or family's EOL care outcomes.

MEASURES

Random effects meta-analyses with subsequent quality sensitivity analysis and meta-regression were performed to assess the effects of EOL conversations on the decision to limit or withdraw life-sustaining treatments. A funnel plot and Eagger test were used to assess publication bias.

RESULTS

16 studies were included in the qualitative and 7 in the quantitative synthesis. Health care professionals-family EOL conversations were positively associated with the family's decision to limit or withdraw life-sustaining treatments (odds ratio = 2.23, 95% confidence interval: 1.58-3.14). The overall effect of health care professionals-family EOL conversations on the family's decision to limit or withdraw life-sustaining treatments remained stable in the quality sensitivity analysis. In the meta-regression, family members with a higher level of education were less influenced by EOL conversations with health care professionals when making decisions about limiting or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments. No publication bias was detected (P = .4483).

CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS

This systematic review shows that EOL conversations promote palliative care. Structured conversations aimed at exploring NH resident preferences about EOL treatment should become routine. NH administrators should offer health care professionals regular training on EOL conversations, and resident-centered care that involves residents and their families in a shared decision-making process at EOL needs to be promoted.

Nurses' experience with relatives of patients receiving end-of-life care in nursing homes and at home: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study

AIM

The aim of this study was to explore any differences between nurses working in nursing home and home-based care in their experiences regarding relatives' ability to accept the imminence of death and relatives' ability to reach agreement when deciding on behalf of patients unable to consent.

DESIGN

An electronic questionnaire-based cross-sectional study.

METHOD

An electronically distributed survey to 884 nurses in long-term care in Norway in May 2014. A total of 399 nurses responded (45%), of which 197 worked in nursing homes and 202 in home-based care.

RESULTS

Nurses in home-based care, more often than their colleagues in nursing homes, experienced that relatives had difficulties in accepting that patients were dying. Nurses who often felt insecure about whether life extension was in consistency with patients' wishes and nurses who talked most about life-prolonging medical treatment in communication with relatives more often experienced that relatives being reluctant to accept a poor prognosis and disagreements between relatives in their role as proxy decision makers for the patient.

Involvement in decisions about intravenous treatment for nursing home patients: nursing homes versus hospital wards

Background

Many of the elderly in nursing homes are very ill and have a reduced quality of life. Life expectancy is often hard to predict. Decisions about life-prolonging treatment should be based on a professional assessment of the patient’s best interest, assessment of capacity to consent, and on the patient’s own wishes. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare how these types of decisions were made in nursing homes and in hospital wards.

Methods

Using a questionnaire, we studied the decision-making process for 299 nursing home patients who were treated for dehydration using intravenous fluids, or for bacterial infections using intravenous antibiotics. We compared the 215 (72%) patients treated in nursing homes to the 84 (28%) nursing home patients treated in the hospital.

Results

The patients’ capacity to consent was considered prior to treatment in 197 (92%) of the patients treated in nursing homes and 56 (67%) of the patients treated in hospitals (p < 0.001). The answers indicate that capacity to consent can be difficult to assess. Patients that were considered capable to consent, were more often involved in the decision-making in nursing homes than in hospital (90% vs. 52%). Next of kin and other health personnel were also more rarely involved when the nursing home patient was treated in hospital. Whether advance care planning had been carried out, was more often unknown in the hospital (69% vs. 17% in nursing homes). Hospital doctors expressed more doubt about the decision to admit the patient to the hospital than about the treatment itself.

Conclusions

This study indicates a potential for improvement in decision-making processes in general, and in particular when nursing home patients are treated in a hospital ward. The findings corroborate that nursing home patients should be treated locally if adequate health care and treatment is available. The communication between the different levels of health care when hospitalization is necessary, must be better.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01023763 (12/1/09) [The registration was delayed one month after study onset due to practical reasons].

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12910-018-0258-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Advance care planning in Norwegian nursing homes

BACKGROUND

Nursing home patients are often frail and have a number of chronic conditions. Increased risk of critical events, hospitalisations and death indicates the need for dialogue with patients and their next of kin about the future, how to agree on sound decisions and what should happen if the patient’s health condition deteriorates. Previous studies have shown that only a minority of nursing homes practise this type of advance care planning.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

In early summer 2014, a questionnaire was sent to all Norwegian nursing homes, containing questions about the prevalence and content of advance care planning.

RESULTS

A total of 57 % (486 nursing homes) responded to the survey. Approximately two-thirds reported that they «always’ or «usually’ undertook advance care planning and around one-third of them had written guidelines. The conversations primarily took place when the patient’s health condition deteriorated, when the patient entered the last phase of life, or in connection with the admission interview. Hospitalisation, pain relief and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were the most frequent topics. Next of kin and the nursing home doctor participated most often in the interviews, while the patients participated more seldom.

INTERPRETATION

There were large variations between the nursing homes with regard to advance care planning. This may partly be explained by the lack of national guidelines, and partly by the fact that this is a relatively recent discussion in Norway. The infrequent participation by patients in the conversations is probably associated with the fact that among them a high proportion are cognitively impaired, the availability of medical resources is low, and a culture of patient participation is insufficiently developed.