077 – Interview: Making Advance Care Planning Easier Through PREPARE

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with geriatrician Rebecca Sudore, MD, an expert in helping older adults address advance directives, end-of-life planning, and other aspects of advance care planning. Dr. Sudore is the creator of PREPARE, an easy-to-use online program designed to help older adults talk about what matters most with family members and health professionals. She is also a Professor in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics. They discuss:

• Why Dr. Sudore created California’s first easy-to-read advance directive form in 2005
• What families in focus groups told her, about making decisions for someone else
• Why it’s important to address more than legal forms and end-of-life situations
• Why older adults need to discuss what matters to them, with family and with their health providers
• How PREPARE uses short videos and worksheets to help older adults think through what matters, and share their values with others
• Her research proving that PREPARE does help older adults address planning
• Why many older adults don’t address advance planning, and how we might change this
• Advance care planning for Alzheimer’s and other dementias
• Tips on getting reluctant older parents to talk about their wishes and address their planning
• How to find an easy-to-use advance directive for all 50 states on the PREPARE website

Related episodes: 

071 – Interview: How Estimating Life Expectancy Helps Older Adults Get Better Care

063 – Giving Yourself (And Your Family) a Gift on National Healthcare Decisions Day

Related Resources:

• PrepareForYourCare.org
  • The online PREPARE program with videos
  • The PREPARE question guide in PDF workbook format
  • Easy-to-Read Advance Directives (by state)
  • PREPARE movie
• The Conversation Project: Starter Kits (PDF workbooks)
• Advance care planning resources for Alzheimer’s and other dementias:
  • Conversation Starter Kit for families of people with Alzheimer’s and dementia
  • Advance Directive for Dementia
  • One Day Your Mind May Fade. At Least You’ll Have a Plan. (New York Times)
• Rebecca Sudore’s related research:
  • Engaging Diverse English- and Spanish-Speaking Older Adults in Advance Care Planning: The PREPARE Randomized Clinical Trial
  • Effect of the PREPARE Website vs an Easy-to-Read Advance Directive on Advance Care Planning Documentation and Engagement Among Veterans A Randomized Clinical Trial
  • Outcomes that Define Successful Advance Care Planning: A Delphi Panel Consensus
  • Improving a Full Range of Advance Care Planning Behavior Change and Action Domains: The PREPARE Randomized Trial
• BHWA: Articles on Advance Care Planning and End-of-Life