Short summary

Advance care planning (ACP) enables individuals to define goals and preferences for future medical treatment and care and help ensure that patients receive the medical care that is consistent with their values in emergency situations. However, no Danish ACP document is yet developed or implemented. The aim of this study is to translate the English ReSPECT form in Danish and test and validate the Danish ReSPECT form in different Danish healthcare settings.

Rationale

In modern healthcare patient-centered care, shared decision making (SDM) and advance care planning (ACP) with patient nearing end-of-life (EOL) is considered central. ACP is defined as the ability to enable individuals to define goals and preferences for future medical treatment and care and to help ensure that people receive medical care that is consistent with their values, goals and preferences during serious and chronic illness. In the United Kingdom, the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) form is used to provide guidelines for healthcare professionals about treatment and care in situations where the patient is unable to express wishes and choices. In Denmark, several regional projects have shown the benefits of ACP conversations and having patient's wishes documented in the journal in case of an emergency situations, where the patient is in a state not capable of expressing own wishes. However, no nationwide ACP document is yet developed or implemented and for most physicians using an ACP document is not common practice. Hence, the aim of this study is to translate the English ReSPECT form in Danish and test and validate the Danish ReSPECT form in different Danish healthcare settings.

Description of the cohort

Patients are eligible for inclusion based on the following inclusion criteria: - Patients for whom it will be beneficial with advance care planning because of age, serious illness or frailty (assessed by the physician) or patients, who themselves ask for/express wishes an ACP conversation - Patients aged 18 years and above - No known cognitive impairment - Understanding and speaking Danish

Data and biological material

Demografic data, questionnaire data and data from patient journal. For a selected part of the patients also data from interview.

Collaborating researchers and departments

Department of Palliative care, Odense University Hospital

• Katrine Rahbek Schønnemann, MD
• Anette Stolberg Kargo, MD

Lægehuset Nr. Åby

• Sverre Strøm, MD

Department of Acute medicine, Addenbrooke's hospital

• Professor Zoe Fritz, MD, PhD

Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark

• Claire Gudex

Palliative Care Unit, Rigshospitalet

• Professor Ann Dorthe Zwisler, MD, PhD
• Kristin Brønnum Nystrup, MD

Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Kolding Hospital

• Professor Hanne Irene Jensen, PhD
• Helene Korvenius Nedergaard, MD, PhD

Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Odense University Hospital

• Professor Thomas Strøm, MD, PhD

REHPA, University of Southern Denmark

• Associate professor, Heidi Maria Bergenholz, PhD