Respecting Choices Advance Care Planning programs support adults at any age or stage of health in understanding and sharing their personal values, life goals, and preferences regarding future medical care. The goal of advance care planning is to help ensure that people receive medical care that is consistent with their values, goals, and preferences during serious and chronic illness.

Additional topic includes caregiver support.

Note: Track health promotion program guidance during COVID-19 regularly for updates to program implementation and training options. Programs traditionally implemented in-person may be temporarily allowable by telephone or online.

• Target audience: Adults at any age or stage of health
• Health outcomes:
  • Concordance between patient and surrogate understanding of patient goals
  • Improved quality of end of life
  • End of life wishes both known and respected
  • Decreased anxiety, depressions and stress following death of loved one
  • Improved satisfaction with being listened to in the hospital
  • Improved satisfaction with level of involvement in decisions made in hospital
  • Improved satisfaction with level of family involvement in decisions made in hospital
• Delivered by: Facilitators may include lay persons, volunteers, social workers, pastoral care, or nurses
• Program type: Advance Care Planning can be facilitated as Group Class or by Individual Conversation
• Format: In-person at home, in-person in community, telephone
• Length: 1-5 sessions
• Training: In-person; has recently been adapted for Virtual Learning Environment
• Professional required: Certification is required but as above, not restricted to a profession
• Accessibility adaptations available: Yes
• Cultural adaptations available: Yes
• Available in languages other than English: Spanish
• Topic(s):
  • Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia
  • Cancer Survivors
  • Care Transitions
  • Chronic Disease

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