| Literature DB >> 32363775 |
Joanna Paladino1,2,3, Luca Koritsanszky1,4, Lauren Nisotel1, Bridget A Neville1,5, Kate Miller1, Justin Sanders1,2,3,6, Evan Benjamin1,2,3, Erik Fromme1,2,3,6, Susan Block2,6,7, Rachelle Bernacki2,3,6.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/Entities:
Keywords: advance care planning; advanced cancer; clinician experience; goals of care communication; palliative care; patient experience; prognostic communication; serious illness communication
Mesh:
Year: 2020 PMID: 32363775 PMCID: PMC7333843 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.3102
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Cancer Med ISSN: 2045-7634 Impact factor: 4.452
Elements of the serious illness conversation guide ,
| Component | Description | Rationale | Patient‐tested Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Clinicians | By normalizing the discussion and starting the conversation earlier when it is not necessary to make a decision, we create space for the patient to have time to process feelings, thoughts, and decisions. Asking permission helps to give the patient control. |
Key tips for the setup Thinking in advance Is this ok? (Asking permission) Benefits for the patient and family |
| Understanding | Clinicians | Clinician can titrate the discussion to the patient's understanding. | “What is |
| Information Preferences | Clinicians | Understanding the patient's desire for information ensures that the patient has control and avoids overwhelming the patient with intolerable information. | “ |
| Prognosis | Clinicians | Sharing prognosis with patients is one of the hardest things we do as clinicians, and yet it is also a foundational element of shared decision‐making. Sharing patient‐centered information about the anticipated illness course, even if uncertain, enables patients to factor this information into their decision‐making and plans. |
Key tips for sharing prognosis: Use hope/worry or hope/prepare language to align with patients when sharing prognosis Allow silence and respond to emotions
Avoid medical jargon |
| Goals | Clinicians | Asking about goals allows the patient to focus on things that are important to them and aids clinicians in tailoring a recommendation that addresses patients’ priorities and creates an individualized care plan. | “If your health situation worsens, what are your most important |
| Fears/ Worries | Clinicians | Fears and worries about suffering, survival, and family well‐being contribute to patients’ distress. Creating space for patients to express worries can be therapeutic for patients | “What are your biggest |
| Function | Clinicians | Patients have different views on functional impairment. An opportunity to express values and prior experiences that inform how patients’ define quality of life can provide key guidance on complex and difficult decisions. | “What |
| Trade‐offs | Clinicians | Exploring the patient's views on different types of care, such as hospitalizations, ICU stays, or invasive treatments and procedures, allows patients to reflect on potential tradeoffs and can promote informed decision‐making | “If you become sicker, |
| Family | Clinician | By exploring patients’ wishes for family involvement, clinicians and patients can partner to develop a plan for involving family members in important discussions, especially since family members may be involved in decisions. | “How much does your |
| Recommendation | Clinicians | By guiding the clinician to incorporate a recommendation about next steps into the conversation, the goal is to provide support to the patient in deciding on next steps. Emotional support and guidance reduces anxiety. | “Based on what's important to you, I’d |
This table is adapted from the following article: American College of Physicians High Value Care Task Force. Communication about serious illness care goals: a review and synthesis of best practices. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(12):1994‐2003. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.5271
The Serious Illness Conversation Guide has been updated and is publicly available. The Serious Illness Conversation Guide. © 2015‐2017 Ariadne Labs: A Joint Center for Health Systems Innovation (www.ariadnelabs.org) at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, in collaboration with Dana‐Farber Cancer Institute. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐ShareAlike 4.0 International License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by‐nc‐sa/4.0/.
Patient characteristics
| Characteristics | Patients who completed the questionnaire |
|---|---|
| No. (%) | |
| Age at baseline (years) (mean, 95% CI) | 60 (58‐63) |
| Gender (%, n) | |
| Female | 52 (56) |
| Male | 41 (44) |
| Race | |
| White | 85 (91) |
| Black | 1 (1) |
| Other | 6 (6) |
| Missing | 1 (1) |
| Hispanic | |
| No | 88 (95) |
| Yes | 2 (2) |
| Missing | 3 (3) |
| Married/partnered | |
| No | 19 (20) |
| Yes | 74 (80) |
| Income less than $75 k | |
| No | 52 (56) |
| Yes | 36 (39) |
| Missing | 5 (5) |
| Disease center | |
| Breast oncology | 22 (24) |
| GI, GU, Head and Neck, Neuro‐Onc, Sarcoma, Thoracic, Other | 52 (56) |
| Heme, Lymphoma | 4 (4) |
| Missing | 15 (16) |
| Health Insurance | |
| Medicare | 40 (43) |
| Medicaid/mass health | 5 (5) |
| Private | 46 (49) |
| Missing | 2 (2) |
| Current health status | |
| Relatively healthy or not seriously ill | 19 (20) |
| Relatively healthy but terminally ill | 54 (58) |
| Seriously but not terminally ill | 14 (15) |
| Seriously and terminally ill | 6 (6) |
| Education high school or less | |
| No | 74 (80) |
| Yes | 19 (20) |
Of the 93 patients, 46 completed an amended version of the same survey with 3 additional questions added. For information about the survey modifications and characteristics of this patient subgroup, please see Table S1.
Clinician characteristics
| Characteristics | Clinicians who completed the questionnaire after 1st SICG conversation (n = 39) |
|---|---|
| No. (%) | |
| Gender | |
| Female | 25 (64) |
| Male | 14 (36) |
| Clinician type | |
| MD | 27 (69) |
| NP | 10 (26) |
| PA | 2 (5) |
| Disease center | |
| Breast oncology | 9 (23) |
| GI, GU, head and neck, neuro‐onc, sarcoma, thoracic, other | 20 (51) |
| Heme, Lymphoma | 3 (8) |
| Missing | 7 (18) |
| Years of practice in professional role (mean, 95% CI) | 13 (9‐17) |
| Percentage of time spent on clinical duties (mean, 95% CI) | 69 (59‐80) |
21 of the clinicians completed 4 additional questions at the end of the study. For additional information about the characteristics of this subgroup of clinicians, please see Table S1.
FIGURE 1Patient experience of the SICG discussion
FIGURE 2Clinician experience of the SICG discussion