Dignity Talk: Helping Palliative Care Patients and Families Have Important Conversations

Inclusion Criteria

• •For Patient:
• •Patients being cared for:
• •in a palliative care unit or whose care is focused on palliation as determined by clinical staff
• •or patients who have have a confirmed diagnosis of amyotropic lateral sclerosis, and have symptoms in a domain that interferes with their social or occupation functioning: a) mobility, b) dysphasia, c) dyspnea, or d) speech or patients who have are have been on dialysis \> 3 months and are \> 60 years of age - or residents of Personal Care Home all of whom are:
• •18 years of age or older
• •able to provide informed oral and written consent
• •cognitive capacity (based on clinical consensus)
• •For Family Member or Close Friend:
• •Family member or close friend who the patient identifies they would be comfortable talking with using the Dignity Talk question framework
• •Family member who is 18 years of age or older
• •Family member who is able to provide oral and written consent
• •Family member who has cognitive capacity to participate in meaningful conversation (based on research staff decision)
• •For Healthcare Provider:
• •Employed one of the participating sites
• •in a discipline directly involved in clinical care (physician, nursing, social work, spiritual care, allied healthcare, etc.)