Advance Care Planning in Nurse Practitioner Practice: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Nursing Practice
• Healthcare Policy

Background:

• The number of Canadians dying from life-limiting illnesses is projected to double by 2056.
• Advance care planning (ACP) is crucial for enhancing end-of-life care quality.
• Nurse practitioners (NPs) are well-positioned to facilitate ACP due to their role in managing chronic and life-limiting conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore Ontario nurse practitioners' (NPs) knowledge, beliefs, and implementation of advance care planning (ACP).
• To understand the extent and nature of NP involvement in ACP.
• To identify factors influencing ACP initiation by NPs.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive study design.
• Survey of nurse practitioners (NPs) in Ontario, Canada.
• Comparison of ACP practices between hospital-based and community-based NPs.

Main Results:

• Hospital-employed NPs were significantly more likely to engage patients in ACP than community-employed NPs.
• Hospital settings were more likely to have established policies for initiating ACP.
• No significant differences were found in NPs' beliefs, attitudes, or comfort levels regarding ACP initiation between the two settings.

Conclusions:

• NPs play a vital role in advance care planning (ACP).
• Setting (hospital vs. community) influences ACP implementation by NPs.
• Further research and targeted education are needed to optimize NP-led ACP across all care settings.