Me & my wishes—a resident-centered video communicating care preferences

We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of Me & My Wishes— person-centered videos of nursing home residents discussing their preferences for daily and end-of-life care consisting of four modules: About Me, Preferences for Today, Preferences for Medical Intervention and End-of-Life (EOL), and Afterthoughts. Residents were recruited from three Oregon nursing homes. To evaluate feasibility we tracked resident enrollment and video completion. Twenty (10 women and 10 men) of 34 residents approached (58% enrollment rate) created videos (mean length 19 minutes). Eighteen residents shared videos. To evaluate acceptability we conducted interviews that captured resident perceptions of producing Me & My Wishes videos. After viewing the video, staff (n = 54 surveys) and family (n=13) assessed communication quality via survey--the extent to which they perceived messages from the video (e.g. preferences for EOL) to be timely, accurate, adequate, complete, and credible (scale 1–7; 1= timely, 7= untimely), and items specific to resident preferences for daily and EOL care. We evaluated linear mixed models that calculated means and accounted for multiple views for each resident’s staff. Residents liked making the video, the opportunity to express their wishes, and the ability to share with family; residents reported no changes to their video at follow up. Video communication quality was positive. Means for communicating preferences for daily care were 1.33 (staff) and 2.36 (family); Means for communicating preferences for EOL were 1.27 (staff) and 2.08 (family). Both staff and family reported increased knowledge about resident preferences for daily and EOL care.