A Tool to Assess Patient and Surrogate Knowledge About the POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Program |
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Authors: | Susan E Hickman Alexia M Torke Greg A Sachs Rebecca L Sudore Anne L Myers Qing Tang Giorgos Bakoyannis Bernard J Hammes |
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Affiliation: | 1. Indiana University School of Nursing, Department of Community & Health Systems, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA;2. IUPUI Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Communication and Training (RESPECT) Signature Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA;3. Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA;4. Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA;5. University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA;6. San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, California, USA;7. Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health and School of Medicine, Department of Biostatistics, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA;8. Respecting Choices, A Division of C-TAC Innovations, La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA |
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Abstract: | ContextIt is especially important that patients are well informed when making high-stakes, preference-sensitive decisions like those on the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form. However, there is currently no way to easily evaluate whether patients understand key concepts when making these important decisions.ObjectivesTo develop a POLST knowledge survey.MethodsExpert (n = 62) ratings of key POLST facts were used to select items for a POLST knowledge survey. The survey was administered to nursing facility residents (n = 97) and surrogate decision-makers (n = 112). A subset (n = 135) were re-administered the survey after a standardized advance care planning discussion to assess the scale's responsiveness to change.ResultsThe 19-item survey demonstrated adequate reliability (α = 0.72.). Residents' scores (x = 11.4, standard deviation 3.3) were significantly lower than surrogate scores (x = 14.7, standard deviation 2.5) (P < 0.001). Scores for both groups increased significantly after administration of a standardized advance care planning discussion (P < 0.001). Although being a surrogate, age, race, education, cognitive functioning, and health literacy were significantly associated with higher POLST Knowledge Survey scores in univariate analyses, only being a surrogate (P < 0.001) and being white (P = 0.028) remained significantly associated with higher scores in multivariate analyses.ConclusionThe 19-item POLST Knowledge Survey demonstrated adequate reliability and responsiveness to change. Findings suggest the survey could be used to identify knowledge deficits and provide targeted education to ensure adequate understanding of key clinical decisions when completing POLST. |
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Keywords: | Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment advance care planning palliative care nursing home |
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