ACP conversations in clinical practice: impact of an education initiative

Implementing advance care planning in palliative and end of life care: a scoping review of community nursing perspectives

BACKGROUND

Advance care planninganning (ACP) is a priority within palliative care service provision. Nurses working in the community occupy an opportune role to engage with families and patients in ACP. Carers and family members of palliative patients often find ACP discussions difficult to initiate. However, community nurses caring for palliative patients can encourage these discussions, utilising the rapport and relationships they have already built with patients and families. Despite this potential, implementation barriers and facilitators continue to exist. To date, no research synthesis has captured the challenges community nurses face when implementing ACP, nor the facilitators of community nurse-led ACP. Considering this, the review question of: 'What factors contribute to or hinder ACP discussion for nurses when providing care to palliative patients?' was explored.

METHOD

To capture challenges and facilitators, a global qualitative scoping review was undertaken in June 2023. The Arksey and O'Malley framework for scoping reviews guided the review methodology. Six databases were searched identifying 333 records: CINAHL (16), MEDLINE (45), PUBMED (195), EMBASE (30), BJOCN (15), IJOPN (32). After de-duplication and title and abstract screening, 108 records remained. These were downloaded, hand searched (adding 5 articles) and subject to a full read. 98 were rejected, leaving a selected dataset of 15 articles. Data extracted into a data extraction chart were thematically analysed.

RESULTS

Three key themes were generated: 'Barriers to ACP', 'Facilitators of ACP' and 'Understanding of professional role and duty'. Key barriers were - lack of confidence, competence, role ambiguity and prognostic uncertainty. Key facilitators concerned the pertinence of the patient-practitioner relationship enabling ACP amongst nurses who had both competence and experience in ACP and/or palliative care (e.g., palliative care training). Lastly, nurses understood ACP to be part of their role, however, met challenges understanding the law surrounding this and its application processes.

CONCLUSIONS

This review suggests that community nurses' experience and competence are associated with the effective implementation of ACP with palliative patients. Future research is needed to develop interventions to promote ACP uptake in community settings, enable confidence building for community nurses and support higher standards of palliative care via the implementation of ACP.

Advance care planning in chronic kidney disease: A national Danish survey of knowledge and attitudes among clinicians

INTRODUCTION

Patients with chronic kidney disease and their families strongly request advance care planning. They want it to start early-before treatment decisions are made-and to be an ongoing process during their illness trajectory. Previous international studies show that health care professionals find there to be significant barriers that impact the extent of involvement in advance care planning.

AIM

To identify Danish nephrology health care professionals' knowledge and attitudes to advance care planning and the status of current advance care planning practice in Denmark.

METHOD

An anonymous, cross-sectional survey was administrated online. The questionnaire was developed in Australia and translated and culturally adapted into Danish. Health care professionals were recruited via email lists. In descriptive statistics and multiple ordinal regression, the influence of the respondents' attributes on the extent of involvement in advance care planning was explored, along with the involvement of family, and skills, comfort, barriers and facilitators in relation to advance care planning.

RESULTS

The 207 respondents comprised nephrologists (23%), other physicians (8%), nurses (62%) and other HCPs (7%), of whom 27% had participated in advance care planning training. In total, 66% indicated that they lacked access to material about advance care planning for patients with chronic kidney disease and 46% indicated that the conversations were performed ad hoc. A total of 47% reported that advance care planning was performed well at their workplace. Reported barriers were time, lack of experience and procedure. Training in advance care planning could facilitate the involvement. Nurses were less likely to feel skilled and comfortable in engaging advance care planning, while those with more than 10 years of experience were more likely to feel skilled and comfortable.

CONCLUSION

Training in advance care planning with patients with chronic kidney disease and their families on both a theoretical and clinical level is important to ensure comfort among health care professionals and to facilitate the extent of involvement. A systematic chronic kidney disease-specific approach is significant, in order to guide the conversations and ensure that advance care planning is conducted to a set standard.

Experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals implementing advance care planning for people suffering from life-limiting illness: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

BACKGROUND

Life-limited patients may lose decision-making abilities during disease progression. Advance care planning can be used as a discussion method for healthcare professionals to understand patients' future care preferences. However, due to many difficulties, the participation rate of healthcare professionals in advance care planning is not high.

AIM

To explore the facilitators of and barriers to healthcare professionals' provision of advance care planning to life-limited patients to better implement it for this population.

METHODS

We followed ENTREQ and PRISMA to guide this study. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, CNKI, and SinoMed to include qualitative data on the experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals in different professional fields in providing advance care planning for life-limited patients. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research was used to assess the quality of the included studies.

RESULTS

A total of 11 studies were included. Two themes were identified: unsupported conditions and facilitative actions. Healthcare professionals regarded cultural concepts, limited time, and fragmented record services as obstacles to implementation. They had low confidence and were overly concerned about negative effects. They needed to possess multiple abilities, learn to flexibly initiate topics, and facilitate effective communication based on multidisciplinary collaboration.

CONCLUSION

Healthcare professionals need an accepting cultural environment to implement advance care planning, a sound legal system, financial support, and a coordinated and shared system to support them. Healthcare systems need to develop educational training programs to increase the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals and to promote multidisciplinary collaboration to facilitate effective communication. Future research should compare the differences in the needs of healthcare professionals in different cultures when implementing advance care planning to develop systematic implementation guidelines in different cultures.

Effects of an Advance Care Planning Training Program for Certified Palliative Care Nurses in Japan

Education programs for certified palliative care nurses who promote advance care planning (ACP) for cancer patients are important, but not currently available in Japan. This study aimed to develop an educational program of ACP for certified palliative care nurses in Japan and evaluate its effectiveness. A program consisting of four modules was implemented for 60 certified palliative care nurses in the Kyushu, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions. Participants attended one training session, and 39 responded to a survey on changes in ACP practice and difficulties with cancer nursing 3 months after the intervention. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to compare data before and after the intervention. The results obtained showed an increase in dialogue on ACP among patients/families and healthcare professionals (mean before the intervention = 24.49, mean after the intervention = 27.59, p = 0.045), and a significant decrease in the sense of difficulty with knowledge of and skills for ACP (mean before the intervention = 4.85, mean after the intervention = 4.30, p = 0.001). More than 90% of the participants gave positive comments on the evaluation items such as understanding and satisfaction with the educational program and appropriateness of the contents. After attending the training program, participants' sense of difficulty with their knowledge of and skills for ACP decreased, and their practice of ACP increased. This program may promote the practice of ACP for cancer patients in the future.

Goals of care conversation education program: An intervention to help health care professionals break bad news to patients with advanced illness

The purpose of the study was to measure the effectiveness of communication skills intervention results for healthcare professionals. A multi-site pretest-posttest survey assessing the efficacy of a Goals of Care conversation education program. The program aimed to educate healthcare professionals concerning having Goals of Care conversations with patients and families. This research was implemented in a large healthcare organization in the Northeastern United States. This study found significant differences between pretests and posttests across professions, palliative care specialty, degree types, and years of experience in the participant's self-reported ability and comfort levels in having conversations about Goals of Care with patients and families. Providing education on Goals of Care was effective in improving the knowledge and comfort of health care professionals with conducting advanced illness conversations.

A scoping review of nurse-led advance care planning

BACKGROUND

Advance care planning (ACP) supports persons at any age or health status to determine their values, goals, and preferences regarding future medical care. The American Nurses Association endorses nurses to facilitate ACP to promote patient- and family-centered care.

PURPOSE

This project reviewed and synthesized literature on nurse-led ACP training models.

METHODS

A scoping review used the Arksey and O'Malley Framework to identify: (a) ACP training model type, (b) nurse-led ACP recipients, (c) ACP in special populations, (d) ACP outcomes.

FINDINGS

Of 33 articles reviewed, 19 included 11 established models; however, the primary finding was lack of a clearly identified evidence-based nurse-led ACP training model.

DISCUSSION

Nurses are integral team members, well positioned to be a bridge of communication between patients and care providers. This is a call to action for nurse leaders, researchers, educators to collaborate to identify and implement an evidence-based, effective nurse-led ACP training model.

Continuing Education Outcomes for Advance Care Planning: A Systematic Review of the Literature

INTRODUCTION

Advance care planning (ACP) is a process of considering future health and care needs for a time when a person may be unable to speak for themselves. Health professional continuing education programs have been proposed for facilitating patient participation in ACP; however, their impacts on participants, patient and clinical outcomes, and organizational approaches to ACP are not well understood.

METHODS

This systematic literature review examined interventional studies of education programs conducted with health professionals and care staff across a broad range of settings. Five electronic databases were searched up to June 2020, and a manual search of reference lists was conducted. The quality of studies was appraised by the first, second, and third authors.

RESULTS

Of the 7993 articles identified, 45 articles met the inclusion criteria. Program participants were predominantly medical, nursing, and social work staff, and students. Interventions were reported to improve participants' self-perceived confidence, knowledge, and skills; however, objectively measured improvements were limited. Multimodal programs that combined initial didactic teaching and role-play simulation tasks with additional activities were most effective in producing increased ACP activity in medical records. Evidence for improved clinical outcomes was limited.

DISCUSSION

Further studies that use rigorous methodological approaches would provide further evidence about what produces improved patient and clinical outcomes. Needs analyses and quality indicators could be considered to determine the most appropriate and effective education resources and monitor their impacts. The potential contribution of a broader range of health professionals and interprofessional learning approaches could be considered to ultimately improve patient care.

Does post-registration palliative care education for nurses improve practice? A systematic review

AIMS

We aimed to answer the question: what is the evidence that post-registration palliative care education for nurses improves practice?

BACKGROUND

The 2008 End of Life Care Strategy emphasised the need for a workforce equipped to provide high-quality end-of-life care for patients and their families. As registered nurses are the healthcare professionals spending most time with patients and families at the end of life, associated policy documents stress the importance of educating nurses to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide effective care. Despite education being a consistent recommendation, the ability of education to influence nursing practice is uncertain.

METHODS

We undertook a systematic review of literature using Joanna Briggs Institute Methodology for Mixed Methods by searching the Medline, Embase and CINAHL databases between January 2006 and December 2018.

FINDINGS

Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, seven contained quantitative data. Six demonstrated improvements in outcome measures, but not all results were statistically significant. Most quantitative data related to self-reported measures of confidence. Six studies contained qualitative findings that were categorised into themes: confidence, practice change, skills and proactivity.

CONCLUSION

Little research exists exploring the impact of post-registration palliative care education for nurses. Existing outcome measures do not clearly demonstrate changes to end-of-life practice. Research is suggested to establish links between self-reported confidence and improvements to practice. Evaluation of the impact on practice should be an integral component of end-of-life education initiatives.

Delivering an advance care planning facilitated model

BACKGROUND

Advance care planning is increasingly recognised as an integral part of achieving excellence at the end of life (EoL), but barriers still prevent individuals from having the opportunity to discuss their wishes and preferences for the future.

AIM

To describe the development and initial evaluations of an innovative facilitated ACP model, the ACP Triple E, which empowers individuals through education to engage in ACP conversations.

METHODS

This model uses a collaborative approach involving all sectors of a large university health board to equip all health and social care professionals with the knowledge, skills and confidence to engage in ACP discussion and also raise public awareness of the benefits of ACP.

CONCLUSION

This model includes recognised elements that support successful implementation of ACP. Initial evaluations of the model are extremely positive. Further analysis of the data is now needed to evaluate the model's flexibility and its ability to change practice and achieve strategic objectives.

An integrative review of stakeholder views on Advance Care Directives (ACD): Barriers and facilitators to initiation, documentation, storage, and implementation

OBJECTIVE

To examine the views and experiences of patients and their health care providers on developing advance care planning (ACP) and advance care directives (ACD); and determine barriers and facilitators to ACD development, storage, and use, including implications for people with communication disability.

METHOD

An integrative review of 93 studies, analysed according to their content themes.

RESULTS

Content themes encapsulated the initiation, documentation, and implementation stages of ACP/ACD. Lack of guidance for initiating and supporting ACP/ACD impedes discussions, and both patients and healthcare providers avoid discussions owing to fear of dying and reluctance to think about end-of-life.

CONCLUSIONS

There are several barriers and facilitators to the initiation of ACP discussions, documentation and implementation of ACD, and little research exploring the views of legal professionals on the development, storage, or use of ACP documents. Further research is needed to explore the timing and responsibility of both legal and health professionals in initiating and supporting ACP discussions.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

It is important for healthcare providers to raise ACP discussions regularly so that patients have time to make informed advance care decisions. Storage of the document in an electronic health record might facilitate better access to and implementation of patients' end-of-life care decisions.

How do Dutch primary care providers overcome barriers to advance care planning with older people? A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Few older people benefit from advance care planning (ACP), due to several barriers related to primary care professionals, such as insufficient knowledge, negative beliefs and a lack of time. Information on overcoming these barriers is limited. We assumed primary care professionals experienced in ACP with older patients are likely to have learned how to overcome these barriers.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate how Dutch primary care professionals experienced in ACP with older patients overcome these barriers.

METHODS

A qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, among a purposive sample of 14 Dutch primary care professionals experienced in ACP with older people. Transcripts were thematically analysed.

RESULTS

We interviewed eight general practitioners (GPs), three nurses and three elderly care physicians, experienced in ACP with older people. Respondents overcame their own insufficient knowledge and skills, as well as their negative attitudes and beliefs by gaining experience through practicing ACP in their daily practices, exchanging and reflecting on those experiences with peers, pursuing continuing education, teaching and participating in research. To overcome patients' and families' lack of initiative and openness to ACP, respondents prepared them for further steps in ACP. To overcome a lack of time, respondents used tools and information communication technology, delegated parts of ACP to other primary care professionals, acquired financing and systematized documentation of ACP.

CONCLUSION

Primary care professionals can overcome barriers to ACP with older patients by practicing, reflecting on experiences and pursuing continuing education, by preparing patients and involving family and by investing in support to approach ACP more efficiently.

Provider Tools for Advance Care Planning and Goals of Care Discussions: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Advance care planning and goals of care discussions involve the exploration of what is most important to a person, including their values and beliefs in preparation for health-care decision-making. Advance care planning conversations focus on planning for future health care, ensuring that an incapable person's wishes are known and can guide the person's substitute decision maker for future decision-making. Goals of care discussions focus on preparing for current decision-making by ensuring the person's goals guide this process.

AIM

To provide evidence regarding tools and/or practices available for use by health-care providers to effectively facilitate advance care planning conversations and/or goals of care discussions.

DATA SOURCES

A systematic review was conducted focusing on guidelines, randomized trials, comparative studies, and noncomparative studies. Databases searched included MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the proceedings of the International Advance Care Planning Conference and the American Society of Clinical Oncology Palliative Care Symposium.

CONCLUSIONS

Although several studies report positive findings, there is a lack of consistent patient outcome evidence to support any one clinical tool for use in advance care planning or goals of care discussions. Effective advance care planning conversations at both the population and the individual level require provider education and communication skill development, standardized and accessible documentation, quality improvement initiatives, and system-wide coordination to impact the population level. There is a need for research focused on goals of care discussions, to clarify the purpose and expected outcomes of these discussions, and to clearly differentiate goals of care from advance care planning.

The role of practice nurses in providing palliative and end-of-life care to older patients with long-term conditions

BACKGROUND

Many people with palliative care needs will receive care from a primary care provider. However, GPs often have limited time to deal with these patients' supportive care needs, which is where primary care nurses can make a significant contribution.

AIM

The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the role of practice nurses in the provision of palliative and end-of-life (EoL) care to older patients with long-term conditions.

METHODS

Twenty one practice nurses from a selection of rural and urban areas in New Zealand were interviewed about their EoL care experiences.

RESULTS

Three themes were identified relating to EoL care: variability of practice nurse involvement in EoL care, limited education and training in EoL care, and what practice nurses can (and do) contribute to EoL care.

CONCLUSION

Priority should be given to developing the palliative care skills and knowledge of primary care nurses and their ability to provide the necessary support to the growing number of patients who will require palliative care.