Pragmatic Trial of Video Education in Nursing Homes (PROVEN)

National Institute on Aging (NIA), Hebrew SeniorLife, Massachusetts General Hospital, Genesis HealthCare, PruittHealth

This is a pragmatic cluster-randomized control trial (RCT) of an Advance Care Planning (ACP) Video Program for nursing home (NH) patients ≥ 65 years old who are cared for in 360 NH facilities (intervention arm n=119; control arm n=241) within two NH health care systems: Genesis HealthCare and PruittHealth. The intervention NH facilities will implement the ACP Video Program, while the control NH facilities will follow their usual ACP procedures. The trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the ACP Video Program by comparing hospitalizations, advance directives, and hospice use in the intervention vs. control NHs.

Nursing homes are complex health care systems that serve increasingly sick patients who have advanced comorbid conditions. NHs are often charged with guiding patients through decisions about the direction of their treatment. Patients at NHs commonly get aggressive care that may be inconsistent with their preferences and of little clinical benefit. Identifying effective approaches that NHs can use to better promote goal-directed care and optimize resources is a research, public health, and clinical priority. Advance care planning is the most consistent modifiable factor associated with better palliative care outcomes. Traditional ACP relies on verbal descriptions of hypothetical health states and treatments. This approach is limited because complex scenarios are difficult to envision, counseling is inconsistent, and verbal explanations are hindered by literacy and language barriers. To address these shortcomings, the PROVEN project has developed video-assisted ACP decision-support tools that have shown efficacy in small randomized controlled trials. While several large health care systems have begun to adopt the videos, efforts have not rigorously evaluated outcomes-a critical step prior to widespread implementation. The goal of PROVEN is to conduct a pragmatic cluster-randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the ACP Video Program in the NH setting by partnering with 2 large health care systems that operate 456 nursing homes nationwide. This work has the potential to improve the care provided to millions of older Americans in nursing homes and enable future pragmatic trials in this setting.

Advance Care Planning, Advance Directives, Alzheimer Disease, Dementia, Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders, Enteral Nutrition, Heart Failure, Hospices, Hospitalization, Instructional Films and Videos, Intubation, Nursing Homes, Parenteral Nutrition, Pragmatic Clinical Trials, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Randomized Controlled Trials, Resuscitation Orders, Skilled Nursing Facilities

The ACP Video Program consists of five videos that address ACP decisions: (1) General Goals of Care, (2) Goals of Care for Advanced Dementia, (3) Hospice, (4) Hospitalization, and (5) ACP for Healthy Patients. NH staff will offer videos to patients at these clinical triggers: (1) Within 7 days of admission or readmission; (2) Every 6 months for long-stay patients; (3) When there is a significant change in clinical status; (4) When a treatment decision arises for which there is a specific video; and (5) Special circumstances when goals of care are being considered (e.g., family visiting).

Number of hospital transfers (number of transfers/person-days alive) over a 12-month observation period among Medicare fee-for-service long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia or advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease

Number of hospital transfers (number of transfers/person-days alive) over a 12-month observation period among Medicare fee-for-service long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease

Number of hospital transfers (number of transfers/person-days alive) over a 100-day observation period among Medicare fee-for-service short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease

Number of hospital transfers (number of transfers/person-days alive) over a 100-day observation period among Medicare fee-for-service short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease

Proportion of long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease whose last observed advance directive status during their 12-month observation period was: Full Code, Do Not Resuscitate (NOT Do Not Hospitalize), or Do Not Hospitalize. A resident whose last observed status was both Do Not Resuscitate and Do Not Hospitalize is categorized as Do Not Hospitalize only. Analyses will be limited to Genesis HealthCare facilities in which >75% of residents have any advance directive because the remaining Genesis HealthCare and PruittHealth facilities do not have reliable sources for these data.

Proportion of Long-stay Residents Without Advanced Illness With Last Observed Advance Directive Status

Proportion of long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who do have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease whose last observed advance directive status during their 12-month observation period was: Full Code, Do Not Resuscitate (NOT Do Not Hospitalize), or Do Not Hospitalize. A resident whose last observed status was both Do Not Resuscitate and Do Not Hospitalize is categorized as Do Not Hospitalize only. Analyses will be limited to Genesis HealthCare facilities in which >75% of residents have any advance directive because the remaining Genesis HealthCare and PruittHealth facilities do not have reliable sources for these data.

Proportion of short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease whose last observed advance directive status during their 100-day observation period was: Full Code, Do Not Resuscitate (NOT Do Not Hospitalize), or Do Not Hospitalize. A resident whose last observed status was both Do Not Resuscitate and Do Not Hospitalize is categorized as Do Not Hospitalize only. Analyses will be limited to Genesis HealthCare facilities in which >75% of residents have any advance directive because the remaining Genesis HealthCare and PruittHealth facilities do not have reliable sources for these data.

Proportion of Short-stay Residents Without Advanced Illness With Last Observed Advance Directive Status

Proportion of short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease whose last observed advance directive status during their 100-day observation period was: Full Code, Do Not Resuscitate (NOT Do Not Hospitalize), or Do Not Hospitalize. A resident whose last observed status was both Do Not Resuscitate and Do Not Hospitalize is categorized as Do Not Hospitalize only. Analyses will be limited to Genesis HealthCare facilities in which >75% of residents have any advance directive because the remaining Genesis HealthCare and PruittHealth facilities do not have reliable sources for these data.

Proportion of long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease who receive any burdensome treatment (new feeding tube insertions, parenteral therapy, intubation, ICU care) during a 12-month observation period

Proportion of long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease who receive any burdensome treatment (new feeding tube insertions, parenteral therapy, intubation, ICU care) during a 12-month observation period

Proportion of short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease who receive any burdensome treatment (new feeding tube insertions, parenteral therapy, intubation, ICU care) during a 100-day observation period among

Proportion of short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease who receive any burdensome treatment (new feeding tube insertions, parenteral therapy, intubation, ICU care) during a 100-day observation period

Proportion of long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease with any hospice enrollment during a 12-month observation period

Proportion of long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease with any hospice enrollment during a 12-month observation period

Proportion of short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease with any hospice enrollment during a 100-day observation period

Proportion of short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease with any hospice enrollment during a 100-day observation period

Proportion of long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease who have any Medicare ACP billing code during their 12-month observation period

Proportion of long-stay residents (in a NH >=90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease who have any Medicare ACP billing code during their 12-month observation period

Proportion of short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have EITHER advanced dementia OR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease who have any Medicare ACP billing code during their 100-day observation period

Proportion of short-stay residents (in a NH <90 days) who are >=65 years old and who have NEITHER advanced dementia NOR advanced congestive heart failure/chronic obstructive lung disease who have any Medicare ACP billing code during their 100-day observation period

Inclusion Criteria: Facilities are within Genesis HealthCare or PruittHealth health care systems Facilities have facility identifiers that indicate that they are Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing facilities in the U.S. Facilities serve both short and long-stay patients Facilities have >50 beds Facilities have an electronic medical records system Facilities had at least 20 admissions and 20 annual Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments (regardless of whether they were discharged alive) in 2013 Exclusion Criteria: Facilities excluded per corporate leaders in health care system because of recent turnover in NH administrator or Director of Nursing Facilities excluded per corporate leaders in health care system because of recent bad state or federal quality assurance survey (e.g. restriction on admissions, levied large civil monetary penalty, etc.) Facilities excluded per corporate leaders in health care system because of current new initiatives/competing demands

McCreedy EM, Yang X, Mitchell SL, Gutman R, Teno J, Loomer L, Moyo P, Volandes A, Gozalo PL, Belanger E, Ogarek J, Mor V. Effect of advance care planning video on do-not-hospitalize orders for nursing home residents with advanced illness. BMC Geriatr. 2022 Apr 8;22(1):298. doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-02970-3.

Mitchell SL, Volandes AE, Gutman R, Gozalo PL, Ogarek JA, Loomer L, McCreedy EM, Zhai R, Mor V. Advance Care Planning Video Intervention Among Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents: A Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Aug 1;180(8):1070-1078. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.2366.

Palmer JA, Parker VA, Barre LR, Mor V, Volandes AE, Belanger E, Loomer L, McCreedy E, Mitchell SL. Understanding implementation fidelity in a pragmatic randomized clinical trial in the nursing home setting:a mixed-methods examination. Trials. 2019 Nov 28;20(1):656. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3725-5.

Palmer JA, Parker VA, Mor V, Volandes AE, Barre LR, Belanger E, Carter P, Loomer L, McCreedy E, Mitchell SL. Barriers and facilitators to implementing a pragmatic trial to improve advance care planning in the nursing home setting. BMC Health Serv Res. 2019 Jul 29;19(1):527. doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4309-5.

Loomer L, McCreedy E, Belanger E, Palmer JA, Mitchell SL, Volandes AE, Mor V. Nursing Home Characteristics Associated With Implementation of an Advance Care Planning Video Intervention. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2019 Jul;20(7):804-809.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2019.01.133. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Palmer JA, Mor V, Volandes AE, McCreedy E, Loomer L, Carter P, Dvorchak F, Mitchell SL. A dynamic application of PRECIS-2 to evaluate implementation in a pragmatic, cluster randomized clinical trial in two nursing home systems. Trials. 2018 Aug 22;19(1):453. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-2817-y.

http://www.rethinkingclinicaltrials.org/uh3-project-pragmatic-trial-of-video-education-in-nursing-homes-proven/

NIH Collaboratory website for UH3 Project: Pragmatic Trial of Video Education in Nursing Homes (PROVEN)