Dataset Information

Which online format is most effective for assisting Baby Boomers to complete advance directives? A randomised controlled trial of email prompting versus online education module.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Completion of Advance Directives (ADs), being financial and healthcare proxy or instructional documents, is relatively uncommon in Australia. Efforts to increase completion rates include online education and prompting which past literature suggests may be effective. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess computer-based online AD information and email prompting for facilitating completion of ADs by Australian Baby Boomers (b.1946-1965) as well as factors which may impede or assist completion of these documents by this generation when using the online environment.

Methods

Two hundred eighty-two men and women aged 49-68 years at the time of the trial were randomly assigned to one of 3 intervention groups: education module only; email prompt only; email prompt and education module; and a control group with no education module and no email prompt. The randomized controlled trial was undertaken in participants' location of choice. Randomization and allocation to trial group were carried out by a central computer system. The primary analysis was based on a final total of 189 participants who completed the trial (n = 52 education module only; n = 44 email prompt only; n = 46 email prompt and education module; and n = 47 control). The primary outcome was the number of individuals in any group completing any of the 4 legal ADs in South Australia within 12 months or less from entry into the trial. Frequency analysis was conducted on secondary outcomes such as reasons for non-completion.

Results

Mean follow-up post-intervention at 12 months showed that 7% of overall participants completed one or more of the 4 legal ADs but without significant difference between groups (delta = 1%, p = .48 Prompt/Non-Prompt groups, delta = 5%, p = .44 education/non-education groups). Reasons offered for non-completion were too busy (26%) and/or it wasn't the right time (21%).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that neither email prompting nor provision of additional educational material online were sufficient to significantly impact AD completion rates for this generational cohort. Research with this cohort over longer periods of time exploring online preferences for engagement with ADs as they age may provide better insight into using this environment for ADs with this group.

Trial registration

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616000425493 .

SUBMITTER: Bradley SL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5576351 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Which online format is most effective for assisting Baby Boomers to complete advance directives? A randomised controlled trial of email prompting versus online education module.

Bradley Sandra L SL Tieman Jennifer J JJ Woodman Richard J RJ Phillips Paddy A PA

BMC palliative care 20170829 1

<h4>Background</h4>Completion of Advance Directives (ADs), being financial and healthcare proxy or instructional documents, is relatively uncommon in Australia. Efforts to increase completion rates include online education and prompting which past literature suggests may be effective. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess computer-based online AD information and email prompting for facilitating completion of ADs by Australian Baby Boomers (b.1946-1965) as well as factors whic ...[more]

PMID: 28851337

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectiveAdvance directives (ADs) are integral to health care, allowing patients to specify surrogate decision-makers and treatment preferences in case of loss of capacity. The present study sought to identify determinants of ADs among stroke survivors.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study (Care Attitudes and Preferences in Stroke Survivors [CAPriSS]), community-dwelling stroke survivors were surveyed on ADs; validated scales were used to query palliative care knowledge and attitudes towards life-sustaining treatments. Logistic regression was used to determine variables associated with ADs.ResultsAmong 562 community-dwelling stroke survivors who entered the survey after screening questions confirmed eligibility, 421 (74.9%) completed survey components with relevant variables of interest. The median age was 69 years (IQR 58-75 years); 53.7% were male; and 15.0% were Black. Two hundred and fifty-one (59.6%) respondents had ADs. Compared to stroke survivors without ADs, those with ADs were more likely to be older (median age 72 vs. 61 years; p<0.001), White (91.2% vs. 75.9%, p<0.001), and male (58.6% vs. 46.5%, p = 0.015), and reported higher education (p<0.001) and income (p = 0.011). Ninety-eight (23.3%) participants had "never heard of palliative care". Compared to participants without ADs, participants with ADs had higher Palliative Care Knowledge Scale (PaCKS) scores (median 10 [IQR 5-12] vs. 7 [IQR 0-11], p<0.001), and lower scores on the Attitudes Towards Life-Sustaining Treatments Scale (indicating a more negative attitude towards life-sustaining treatments; median 23 [IQR 18-28] vs. 29 [IQR 24-35], p<0.001). Multivariable logistic regression identified age (OR 1.62 per 10 year increase, 95% CI 1.30-2.02; p<0.001), prior advance care planning discussion with a physician (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.04-2.86; p = 0.034), PaCKS scores (OR 1.06 per 1 point increase, 95% CI 1.01-1.12; p = 0.018), and Attitudes Towards Life-Sustaining Treatments Scale scores (OR 0.91 per 1 point increase, 95% CI 0.88-0.95; p<0.001) as variables independently associated with ADs.ConclusionsAge, prior advance care planning discussion with a physician, palliative care knowledge, and attitudes towards life-sustaining treatments were independently associated with ADs.

Project description:OBJECTIVE:We describe sources expected to provide for future care needs among baby-boomers in their late sixties and examine how expectations vary according to earlier health and social experiences. We hypothesised that greater integration in social relationships across adulthood is associated with greater expectation of informal care, and that greater morbidity over a longer time period is associated with greater expectation of formal care. METHOD:The MRC National Survey of Health and Development, a population-based birth cohort study set in mainland Britain, provided data on care expectations for 2135 participants aged 68-69. The outcome was who, besides the partner or spouse, is expected to provide for the future care needs, coded as adult children, other relatives, friends/neighbours, paid/professional care, or no one. Adult children were taken as the reference category and the latter two categories were combined as 'formal care' in the multiple regression analysis. RESULTS:91% had an adult child, of whom 74% expected them to provide care if needed, and 11% expected formal care. The latter rose to 33% of those with no adult children. Geographical distance to adult children (over 25 miles) was strongly correlated with expectations but, independently of this, lack of someone to help in a crisis from midlife onwards and low social contact were associated with expecting formal care. Expectations did not differ by number of chronic conditions, functional limitations or longstanding illness from age 60?+?. CONCLUSION:Those lacking social relationships in midlife onwards and those living further from adult children are more likely to expect formal help with their future care needs. As personal care needs are projected to rise with population ageing and families are increasingly expected to provide for these needs, initiatives to remove barriers to smaller distances between ageing parents and their children and to support and maintain high-quality family relationships across the life course should be considered.

Project description:BACKGROUND:An advance directive is a document specifying a person's preferences for treatment, should he or she lose capacity to make such decisions in the future. They have been used in end-of-life settings to direct care but should be well suited to the mental health setting. OBJECTIVES:To examine the effects of advance treatment directives for people with severe mental illness. SEARCH STRATEGY:We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (February 2008), the Cochrane Library (Issue 1 2008), BIOSIS (1985 to February 2008), CINAHL (1982 to February 2008), EMBASE (1980 to February 2008), MEDLINE (1966 to February 2008), PsycINFO (1872 to February 2008), as well as SCISEARCH and Google - Internet search engine (February 2008). We inspected relevant references and contacted first authors of included studies. SELECTION CRITERIA:We included all randomised controlled trials (RCTs), involving adults with severe mental illness, comparing any form of advance directive with standard care for health service and clinical outcomes. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:We extracted data independently. For homogenous dichotomous data we calculated fixed-effect relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis. For continuous data, we calculated weighted mean differences (WMD) and their 95% confidence interval again using a fixed-effect model. MAIN RESULTS:We were able to include two trials involving 321 people with severe mental illnesses. There was no significant difference in hospital admission (n=160, 1 RCT, RR 0.69 0.5 to 1.0), or number of psychiatric outpatient attendances between participants given advanced treatment directives or usual care. Similarly, no significant differences were found for compliance with treatment, self harm or number of arrests. Participants given advanced treatment directives needed less use of social workers time (n=160, 1 RCT, WMD -106.00 CI -156.2 to -55.8) than the usual care group, and violent acts were also lower in the advanced directives group (n=160, 1 RCT, RR 0.27 CI 0.1 to 0.9, NNT 8 CI 6 to 92). The number of people leaving the study early were not different between groups (n=321, 2 RCTs, RR 0.92 CI 0.6 to 1.6). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:There are too few data available to make definitive recommendations. More intensive forms of advance directive appear to show promise, but currently practice must be guided by evidence other than that derived from randomised trials. More trials are indicated to determine whether higher intensity interventions, such as joint crisis planning, have an effect on outcomes of clinical relevance.

Dataset Information

Which online format is most effective for assisting Baby Boomers to complete advance directives? A randomised controlled trial of email prompting versus online education module.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Trial registration

Publications

Which online format is most effective for assisting Baby Boomers to complete advance directives? A randomised controlled trial of email prompting versus online education module.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets