Using an End-of-life Conversation Game to Engage Underserved Communities in Advance Care Planning

NCT03456921 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Study00009009
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,122
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This national project will provide an effective, evidence-based intervention for advance care planning (ACP) to 50 underserved US communities, those with poor access to healthcare systems due to economic, cultural or other barriers. The project will also examine 15 of the 50 communities to learn about the unique needs of African American communities in regards to ACP and to assess the intervention with this population. The team includes the Hospice Foundation of America and a university-based research team from Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Conditions

Advance Care Planning; Vulnerable Populations; Advance Directives; Terminal Illness

Keywords

health games; community engagement; serious games

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Rate of ACP Behaviors

  This phone questionnaire assesses whether participants went on to perform various behaviors related to advance care planning.

  9 months post intervention

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Change in ACP Engagement Survey scores

  Baseline (Day 0); immediately post-intervention (Day 0); 3-9 months post intervention

• Conversation satisfaction questionnaire

  Immediately post-intervention (Day 0)

• ACP Values/Beliefs Questionnaire

  immediately post-intervention (Day 0)

• Conversation Realism Questionnaire

  immediately post-intervention (Day 0)

• Net Promoter Score

  immediately post-intervention (0)

Study Arms (1)

Game participants

EXPERIMENTAL

All participants will engage in playing the end-of-life conversation game called "Hello", which involves answering open-ended questions about medical decision making and end-of-life issues.

Other: End-of-life conversation game called "Hello"

Interventions

End-of-life conversation game called "Hello" OTHER

To play 'Hello', players are provided 32 open-ended questions in a prearranged order and an equal number of game chips. A player reads aloud the first question. Players then individually write down their answers, and take turns sharing answers with the group (players can opt to pass). Players control how long they share, what they share, and when they are ready to proceed to the next question. During the conversation, players may choose to acknowledge others for a particularly thoughtful, poignant, or even funny comment by giving them a chip. A simple pre-game coin flip determines whether the player with the most chips 'wins' the game ('heads'), or the player with the least amount of chips wins the game ('tails').

Also known as: Previously named "My Gift of Grace"

Game participants

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Are over the age of 18
• Attend a community Game Day event hosted as part of the Hospice Foundation of America community outreach "Hello Project"

You may not qualify if:

• Do not speak English
• Have significant difficulties with hearing or speaking difficulties by self-report
• Do not provide informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Milton S. Hershey Medical Center: lead
• John and Wauna Harman Foundation: collaborator
• Hospice Foundation of America: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Penn State Hershey College of Medicine

Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17011, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Van Scoy LJ, Green MJ, Witt PD, Bramble C, Richardson C, Putzig I, Toyobo O, Wasserman E, Chinchilli VM, Tucci A, Levi BH. Low Skepticism and Positive Attitudes About Advance Care Planning Among African Americans: a National, Mixed Methods Cohort Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Mar;36(3):705-712. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06224-z. Epub 2020 Sep 18.

  PMID: 32948953 DERIVED

Study Officials

• Lauren J Van Scoy

  Penn State College of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor of Medicine, Humanities and Public Health Sciences

Model Details: This project uses an evidence-based and effective intervention--an end-of-life conversation game called "Hello"--to engage and activate participants to perform advance care planning. Quantitative data will be collected before and after immediately playing the game. Focus groups also will be held immediately after the game. Three months to nine months after playing the game, participants will complete surveys and also engage in semi-structured interviews about the game and about their ACP activities.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 23, 2018
• First Posted: March 7, 2018
• Study Start: February 28, 2018
• Primary Completion: September 15, 2019
• Study Completion: September 15, 2019
• Last Updated: November 4, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)