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| Helping the primary care system identify, plan, and care for seriously ill, frail elderly | |
|---|---|
| Investigator (PI): | Urquhart, Robin |
| Performing Organization (PO): |
(Current): Dalhousie University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery / (902) 473-4615 |
| Supporting Agency (SA): | Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation |
| Initial Year: | 2015 |
| Final Year: | 2016 |
| Record Source/Award ID: | NSHRF/10201 |
| Funding: | Total Award Amount: $50,000 |
| Award Type: | Grant |
| Abstract: | The goal of this study is to help primary health care providers and systems engage in advance care planning (ACP) for elderly patients who are frail and/or living with a chronic illness that may be life threatening. ACP is the process by which a patient thinks about his/her future health care and, with his/her doctor and family, names his/her goals and wishes for care. Often, people who would benefit from ACP are identified too late for their goals and wishes to be put into place and carried out. To ensure that elderly patients who are at risk of dying receive care that aligns with their goals and wishes, we need a better way to help doctors identify them earlier in their disease path and a better understanding of their ACP needs. Primary health care is an ideal place for early identification and ACP to occur since it is usually the point of first and continuing contact for patients where long-term relationships are formed. The aims of this study are to 1. develop an organized strategy to identify elderly patients at risk of dying in the next 12-18 months, using information collected in primary health care electronic medical records, so that doctors may begin ACP earlier in their illness; 2. understand how the strategy can be best put into practice across different primary health care settings; 3. explore how doctors, other healthcare providers, government officials, patients, families, and members of the general public view this identification strategy and their recommendations for starting ACP conversations once people are identified as being at risk of dying; and 4. determine patients' and families' needs for ACP in primary health care, their views and preferences on who should begin ACP, where ACP should happen, and at what time during their illness. At project end, we will provide 1. an organized strategy to identify elderly patients at risk of dying in the next 12-18 months, which has been tested in different patient groups; 2. information to help us successfully put this strategy into primary health care practice; and 3. information to help us spread early identification and ACP in primary health care across Canada. This research directly supports the palliative care strategies in each province and will spur health system change that is located in primary health care. At the end of the study, we will add new, cutting-edge knowledge to improve the delivery of care for elderly patients who are frail and/or living with a chronic illness that may be life threatening, in a way that meets their needs, responds to their goals and wishes, lowers stress on their family members, and improves their care experience. Our research team includes researchers, doctors, policy leaders, students, citizens, and community partners. All team members will work toward making sure the findings reach the people who can act on them, and improve the care of elderly patients at risk of dying. |
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| Country: | Canada |
| State: | Nova Scotia |
| Zip Code: | B3H 2Y9 |
| UI: | 20161310 |
| Project Status: | Completed |