Objectives: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of facilitated advance care planning (ACP) discussions in elderly Italian and Greek-speaking inpatients compared to English-speaking inpatients.
Design, setting and participants: This cross-sectional study with convenience sampling was conducted in Melbourne, Australia, and recruited hospital inpatients with medical decision-making capacity, aged 65 years or above, who spoke Greek (25 patients), Italian (24 patients) or English (63 patients).
Intervention: Facilitated ACP was offered, aiming to assists patients to consider and discuss their goals, values, beliefs and future treatment wishes with their family and doctor; to help them consider how they would like healthcare decisions made in the future if they become unable to do this for themselves; and to complete advance care directives.
Main outcome measures: The completion of ACP discussions, their duration, advance care directive completion and utilisation of interpreters.
Results: Of 112 patients, 109 (97%) had at least one discussion, 63 (54%) completed advance care directives, either nominating a substitute decision-maker, documenting their wishes or both, and 76 (68%) included family in discussions. The median duration of discussions for all patients was slightly more than 1 h, over two visits. There were no differences between the Greek-speaking and the Italian-speaking patients, or between the Non-English speaking and the English-speaking patients in any of these measures. Only 14 non-English speaking patients, (30%) utilised interpreters, but when utilised, patients were much more likely (p<0.005) to complete advance care directives.
Conclusions: Facilitated ACP in elderly Italian and Greek-speaking patients is feasible, acceptable and is similar to that for English-speaking patients.
Keywords: advance care directives; advance care planning; patient centred care.
Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.