Journal of community health
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Community health workers (CHWs) can engage elderly persons in advance care planning (ACP) conversations. We report how trained CHWs used Go Wish cards (GW R cards) to identify patients' highest priority preferences and evaluated whether engaging in ACP conversations was associated with subsequent health care utilization. A one-year long, pre-post longitudinal design was used to evaluate our educational intervention using mixed-methods. 392 patients (mean of 73.3 years, 82% women, 48% African American, 43% Caucasian) enrolled in the Aging Brain Care (ABC) program and participated in ACP discussions with CHWs. ⋯ Eighty-six patients' data indicated that they had engaged in a preferences-for-care process using GW R cards. The top-three card choices by patients was attending to spirituality and religious concerns, preparing for end of life, and maintaining personal wholeness. CHWs were able to effectively engage in ACP conversations with patients and GW R cards were a positive way to stimulate discussion of issues previously undiscussed.
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John P. Craig (1923-2016) was an eminent physician-scientist, gifted educator, and greatly valued mentor. Born in West Liberty, Ohio on 29 November 1923, he attended Oberlin College, and received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine. ⋯ Craig passed away in Tucson, Arizona on 27 September 2016 in his ninety-third year. He was an eminent success as a research scientist as well as an outstanding educator and mentor. As a result, he had a lasting influence on the lives and careers of both students and colleagues.