BackgroundLaypersons including volunteers, community health navigators, or peer educators provide important support to individuals with serious illnesses in community or healthcare settings. The experiences of laypersons in communication with seriously ill peers is unknown.MethodsWe performed an ENTREQ-guided qualitative meta-synthesis. We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and AMED to include qualitative studies with data regarding communication and laypersons in advance care planning, palliative care, or end-of-life settings. Study quality was appraised using a standardized tool. The analysis identified key domains and associated themes relating specifically to laypersons’ perspectives on communication.ResultsOf 877 articles, nine studies provided layperson quotations related to layperson-to-peer communication associated with advance care planning (n = 4) or end-of-life conversations (n = 5). The studies were conducted in United Kingdom (n = 4) or United States settings (n = 5). The synthesis of layperson perspectives yielded five main domains: 1) layperson-to-peer communication, focusing on the experience of talking with peers, 2) layperson-to-peer interpersonal interactions, focusing on the entire interaction between the layperson and peers, excluding communication-related issues, 3) personal impact on the layperson, 4) layperson contributions, and 5) layperson training. Laypersons described using specific communication skills including the ability to build rapport, discuss sensitive issues, listen and allow silence, and respond to emotions.ConclusionsPublished studies described experiences of trained laypersons in conversations with peers related to advance care planning or end-of-life situations. Based on these layperson perspectives related to communication, programs should next evaluate the potential impact of laypersons in meaningful conversations.

Despite the established benefit of advance care planning (ACP), achieving and sustaining high rates of ACP completion continue to be a challenge in many health care settings. A palliative care champions committee has targeted improving the ACP process through quality improvement initiatives at an academic medical center. To understand the impact of multiyear efforts to improve ACP, surveys of registered nurses, care coordinators, and medical assistants from inpatient and outpatient settings were conducted in 2013 and 2017 to explore comfort level with ACP, barriers preventing completion of ACP in daily practice, and suggestions for overcoming these barriers. The findings suggest strategies to further integrate ACP through interdisciplinary teams, including outpatient staff education, inpatient and outpatient quality improvement initiatives, and dedicated staff for ACP.