Engaging Diverse Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment and Caregivers in Advance Care Planning: A Pilot Study of the Interactive PREPARE Website

imageIntroduction:

Engaging patients with cognitive impairment in advance care planning (ACP), including completing advance directives and naming health care proxies, before they lose decision-making capacity is important.

Methods:

We determined the feasibility of the PREPAREforYourCare.org ACP program among 20 diverse older adults with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment and their caregivers in a 1-week, pre-post pilot. We examined ease-of-use, satisfaction, and feasibility using validated scales, and change in ACP Engagement scores, including knowledge, contemplation, self-efficacy, and readiness subscales (5-point scales), from baseline to 1-week.

Results:

Participants were on average 70 years old (SD=9.0), 45% Spanish-speaking, 60% had limited health literacy, and 15% felt comfortable using the internet. Patients and caregivers rated PREPARE a mean of 8.6 (SD=1.6)…

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