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Implementing a Nurse-led Advance Care Planning (ACP) Intervention in Residential Care Homes

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Advanced Care Planning
Interventions
Behavioral: Nurse-led Advance Care Planning (ACP) Intervention
Registration Number
NCT06238063
Lead Sponsor
The University of Hong Kong
Brief Summary

The goal of this cluster randomized controlled trial is to examine the effectiveness of a nurse-led advance care planning (ACP) intervention on improving ACP discussion uptake in residential care homes (RCHs). The main question it aims to answer is: The effectiveness of nurse-led advance care planning (ACP) interventions implemented on eligible residents in residential care homes on improving ACP discussion uptake in this population.

Compared to participants in the control group who will only receive usual care with no ACP intervention, residents and their family members in the intervention group will be invited to attend the ICP meeting with ACP discussion. The ACP discussion will be guided by the established protocol, which was developed by the expert panel and delivered by trained nurses.

Detailed Description

Targeted issue: The lack of ACP discussion and poor dyadic congruence pose challenges to the provision of good EOL care in Hong Kong RCHs.

Population: RCHs in Hong Kong with nurse-to-resident ratios ≥1:3 will be targeted to ensure adequate staffing to carry out ACP. Eligible participants have to be age 65 or older and be able to communicate in Cantonese or Mandarin. Participants will also be invited to identify family members involved in making decisions about their care to participate in the intervention.

Intervention: a nurse-led advance care planning (ACP) intervention

Main study aim: To implement a nurse-led ACP intervention for improving ACP uptake in RCH residents in Hong Kong to bridge the evidence-practice gap.

Study method: This implementation science study will use a mixed methods approach, including a pair-matched cluster-RCT and qualitative interviews, and relevant outcomes will be followed for up to 2 years. RCHs will be randomized into two groups: a nurse-led ACP intervention group and a control group with usual care only.The ACP documentation (i.e., new documentation related to ACP and EOL care) in medical records of all RCH residents in the intervention and control groups will be audited by the research team at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1; after the ACP intervention), 1-year follow-up (T2; 1 year after the launch of the ACP intervention at the RCH), and 2-year follow-up (T3; 2 years after the launch of the ACP intervention at the RCH).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
164
Inclusion Criteria
  • Eligible participants have to be age 65 or older and be able to communicate in Cantonese or Mandarin.
  • Participants will also be invited to identify family members involved in making decisions about their care to participate in the intervention. For residents who have moderate or severe cognitive impairment (as determined by a score of less than 19 in the Hong Kong version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment), the participation of family members is mandatory.
Exclusion Criteria
  • They have a moderate or severe significant cognitive impairment but do not have family members, or
  • They have prior ACP experience (e.g., AD completed).

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
InterventionNurse-led Advance Care Planning (ACP) InterventionThe ACP intervention, which was developed by the expert panel, will be delivered by trained nurses in each RCH during a mandatory annual individual care planning (ICP) meeting. Eligible residents and their family members will be invited to attend the ICP meeting with ACP discussion.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from Baseline in ACP documentation at 1-year follow-up time point.1-year follow-up (i.e., 1 year after the launch of the ACP intervention)

ACP documentation (i.e., new documentation related to ACP and EOL care) will be extracted by reviewing participants' medical records for a new ACP documentation at the time that 1 year after the launch of the ACP intervention at the RCH.

Change from Baseline in ACP documentation at post-interventionimmediately after the intervention

ACP documentation (i.e., new documentation related to ACP and EOL care) will be extracted by reviewing participants' medical records for a new ACP documentation after the intervention.

Change from Baseline in ACP documentation at 2-year follow-up time point.2-year follow-up (i.e., 2 years after the launch of the ACP intervention at the RCH).

ACP documentation (i.e., new documentation related to ACP and EOL care) will be extracted by reviewing participants' medical records for a new ACP documentation at the time that 2 year after the launch of the ACP intervention at the RCH.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The University of Hong Kong

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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