ENgaging in Advance Care Planning Talks Group Visit Intervention for Cognitive Impairment (ENACT-aMCI)

ENgaging in Advance Care Planning Talks Group Visit Intervention (ENACT) for Individuals With Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI)

The Advance Care Planning Group Visit intervention is a new intervention that uses the strengths of group visits to promote advance care planning conversations and documentation. However, the Advance Care Planning Group Visit intervention was initially designed for individuals without cognitive impairment. This study will specifically investigate ways to adapt the Advance Care Planning Group Visit intervention for individuals with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and their family care partners.

Advance care planning is a process that supports adults at any age or stage of health in understanding and sharing their personal values, life goals, and preferences regarding future medical care. The goal of advance care planning is to help ensure that people receive medical care that is consistent with their values, goals and preferences during serious and chronic illness. The Advance Care Planning Group Visit intervention is a new intervention that uses the strengths of group visits to promote advance care planning conversations and documentation. However, the Advance Care Planning Group Visit intervention was initially designed for individuals without cognitive impairment. This study will specifically investigate ways to adapt the Advance Care Planning Group Visit intervention for individuals with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment. This is a pilot test of the Advance Care Planning Group Visit intervention adaptations, called ENgaging in Advance Care planning Talks Group Visit intervention (ENACT Memory Group Visits), to see if it is feasible, acceptable and improves the number of people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment who complete an advance directive (a legal form that describes someone's wishes for future medical care if they are unable to make their own decisions). It will also see how ready individuals are to participate in advance care planning. The overall goal is to improve opportunities for older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment to receive medical care that is consistent with their values, goals, and preferences. This aim will use rapid-cycle prototyping (n-of-1 interventions) to conduct the ENgaging in Advance Care planning Talks (ENACT) Memory Group Visits, adapting them for individuals with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment. Each n-of-1 prototype will include up to 10 patient-study partner dyads meeting in up to two 2-hour group medical visit sessions, one month apart. Four cohorts will be conducted so that approximately 40 participants are involved in the n-of-1 prototypes of the ENACT Memory Group Visit intervention. The intervention will be conducted based on an intervention manual that will be refined and adapted with input from patients, study partners, and the research team of multidisciplinary clinicians. Participants will receive the Colorado Medical Durable Power of Attorney form and other appropriate advance care planning resources for individuals with aMCI.

Participants with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment will attend group visits to discuss advance care planning with their study partners. Group visits will last up to two hours and be help up to twice.

Care partners of persons with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment will attend group visits, with the person with Mild Cognitive Impairment, to discuss advance care planning. Group visits will last up to two hours and be help up to twice.

Pilot test the Advance Care Planning Group Visit intervention adaptations, called ENgaging in Advance Care planning Talks Group Visit intervention (ENACT Memory Group Visits), to see if it is feasible, acceptable and improves the number of people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment who complete an advance directive (a legal form that describes someone's wishes for future medical care if they are unable to make their own decisions). It will also see how ready individuals are to participate in advance care planning. The overall goal is to improve opportunities for older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment to receive medical care that is consistent with their values, goals, and preferences.

The Advance Care Planning (ACP) Engagement Scale will be used to assess readiness to engage in specific parts of the advance care planning process (i.e. signing official papers to name a medical decision maker; talking to the decision maker; talking to the doctor; signing official papers putting their wishes in writing). Items are rated on a Likert scale, with possible scores ranging from 1-5. Higher scores indicate a higher level of engagement with the advance care planning behavior and a better outcome.

Care partner report of the Advance Care Planning (ACP) Engagement Scale will be used to assess care partner perspectives on the person with amnestic mild cognitive impairment's readiness to engage in specific parts of the advance care planning process (i.e. signing official papers to name a medical decision maker; talking to the decision maker; talking to the doctor; signing official papers putting their wishes in writing). Items are rated on a Likert scale, with possible scores ranging from 1-5. Higher scores indicate a higher level of engagement with the advance care planning behavior and a better outcome.

Investigator-developed 7-item evaluation to assess participant rating of intervention comfort in the group setting, usefulness, preference compared to one-on-one visits, and helpfulness of talking with others. Each item is rated from "strong disagree" to "strongly agree" on a 5-point Likert scale. Scores can range from 1-5 with a score of 5 being a better outcome. This scale has not been specifically named. It has been published in the included reference.

Inclusion Criteria: diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment ability to provide consent have a study partner who has regular interaction with the patient Exclusion Criteria: known prior diagnosis of deafness/hearing loss that would limit group discussion participation inability to travel to study location not having access to a phone for follow up not having an individual who is able to serve as a study partner to the patient normal cognitive screen based on SPMSQ

Lum HD, Jones J, Matlock DD, Glasgow RE, Lobo I, Levy CR, Schwartz RS, Sudore RL, Kutner JS. Advance Care Planning Meets Group Medical Visits: The Feasibility of Promoting Conversations. Ann Fam Med. 2016 Mar;14(2):125-32. doi: 10.1370/afm.1906.

Lum HD, Sudore RL, Matlock DD, Juarez-Colunga E, Jones J, Nowels M, Schwartz RS, Kutner JS, Levy CR. A Group Visit Initiative Improves Advance Care Planning Documentation among Older Adults in Primary Care. J Am Board Fam Med. 2017 Jul-Aug;30(4):480-490. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2017.04.170036.

Lum HD, Dukes J, Daddato AE, Juarez-Colunga E, Shanbhag P, Kutner JS, Levy CR, Sudore RL. Effectiveness of Advance Care Planning Group Visits Among Older Adults in Primary Care. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 Oct;68(10):2382-2389. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16694. Epub 2020 Jul 29.