Mixed Methods Study Web-based Life Support Decision Aid

Plain-language summary

Patients and families want to be involved in healthcare decisions. When the decision-making process does not engage older patients and their families, the care provided does not match patient preferences or meet their needs. Healthcare teams can collaborate to support patients and families facing difficult healthcare decisions, such as decisions about the use of technology used to keep a person alive when they are critically ill. Tools called patient decision aids are used in many health care settings to help patients and families understand their options and figure out the benefits and harms of a treatment to decide what is right for them. The healthcare team can make sure that patients understand the information provided, give them opportunities to ask questions, and help them talk more about the decision with others. This research study is trialing a web based patient decision aid class of intervention. It is anticipated that 120 hospitalized, seriously ill, older adult patients/ families and their healthcare professionals will be recruited. The study will determine if the intervention can improve dialogue about whether life sustaining technology for seriously ill older patients. The findings will contribute to what is already known about overcoming challenges to involving patients and families with a goal of keeping patients and families at the centre of decisions about their health.

Who can participate

What they're measuring

Trial details