Connecting Personal Experiences of Loss and Professional Practices in Advance Care Planning and End-of-Life Care: A Survey of Providers:

Background:Although practitioners overwhelmingly agree on the importance of advance care planning (ACP) and preparing for the end of life (EOL), the process is fraught with barriers.Objective:The goal of this research was to explore potential connections between providers’ own personal experiences and current professional practices in ACP and EOL care.Design:A cross-sectional survey design, gathering voluntary, anonymous responses from participants between August and December 2016. The survey sought information from providers in 3 distinct areas: (1) personal experiences of loss, (2) personal ACP, and (3) professional practices related to ACP and EOL care. Setting/Participants: One hundred and ninety health-care professionals (primarily physicians, nurses, and social workers) participated in the survey across a greater, Metropolitan area in the Midwest. Measurements: Questions for professional practices were subscales from the End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey: Patient- and Family-Centered Communi...