In October 2023, the article The Impact of Advance Care Planning on Healthcare Professionals’ Well-being: A Systematic Review was published. Several colleagues from the Unité de soutien SSA Québec are part of the team that produced this publication. This page provides a summary of this scientific article. To read the full article, click here.
Lucas Gomes Souza, MD, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada, and VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada.
Dalil Asmaou Bouba, MD, ENT, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada, and VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada.
Roberta de Carvalho Corôa, BSc, MSc, PhD, VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada and Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
Suélène Georgina Dofara, MSc, VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, QC, Canada.
Vincent Robitaille, Bsc(c), Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada, and VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la CapitaleNationale, Quebec, QC, Canada.
Virginie Blanchette, DPM, MSc, PhD, Department of Human Kinetics and Podiatric Medicine, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, TroisRivières, QC, Canada.
Kathy Kastner, Best Endings, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Fréderic Bergeron, MSI, Bibliothèque de l’Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
Sabrina Guay-Bélanger, MSc, PhD, VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec,QC, Canada.
Shigeko (Seiko) Izumi, PhD, RN, FPCN, School of Nursing, Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon, USA.
Annette M. Totten, PhD, Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon, USA.
Patrick Archambault, MD, MSc, FRCPC, VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, Canada, Centre de recherche intégrée pour un système apprenant en santé et services sociaux, Centre intégré de santé et services sociaux de Chaudière-Appalaches, Québec, QC, Canada. Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec,QC, Canada.
France Légaré, C.Q. BSc Arch, MD, MSc, Ph.D., CCFP, FCFP, VITAM – Centre de recherche en santé durable, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, Canada and Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
Context
Advance care planning (ACP) improves care for patients with chronic illnesses and reduces family stress. However, the impact of ACP interventions on healthcare professionals’ well-being remains unknown.
Objective
To systematically review the literature evaluating the impact of ACP interventions on healthcare professionals’ well-being.
Methods
We followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for systematic reviews and registered the protocol in PROSPERO (CRD42022346354). We included primary studies in all languages that assessed the well-being of healthcare professionals in ACP interventions. We excluded any studies on ACP in psychiatric care and in palliative care that did not address goals of care. Searches were conducted on April 4, 2022, and March 6, 2023 in Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PubMed. We used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool for quality analysis. We present results as a narrative synthesis because of their heterogeneity.
Results
We included 21 articles published in English between 1997 and 2021 with 17 published after 2019. All were conducted in high-income countries, and they involved a total of 1278 participants. Three reported an interprofessional intervention and two included patient partners. Studies had significant methodological flaws but most reported that ACP had a possible positive impact on healthcare professionals’ well-being.
Conclusion
This review is the first to explore the impact of ACP interventions on healthcare professionals’ well-being. ACP interventions appear to have a positive impact, but high-quality studies are scarce. Further research is needed, particularly, using more rigorous and systematic methods to implement interventions and report results.