Advance care planning experiences of patients with heart failure and their families: a qualitative systematic review protocol

Abstract

Objective: This review aims to synthesize advance care planning experiences of patients with heart failure at stage C or D, and the experiences of their families. Introduction: The high incidence rates worldwide and the health burdens associated with heart failure indicate a need to implement end-of-life care for people with cardiovascular disease. Advance care planning is a core process in effective end-of-life cardiovascular care. Since the trajectory of heart failure is unique, it is necessary to establish patient-specific interventions focusing on their experiences, and develop effective advance care planning interventions. However, no previously published systematic reviews have integrated knowledge of the patient’s or the family’s experience. Therefore, more comprehensive analyses of the experiences of patients with heart failure and their families are required to conduct better interventions. Inclusion criteria: This review will consider qualitative studies on the experiences of adult patients with stage C or D heart failure who participated in advance care planning, and the experiences of their families. Studies conducted in all settings that accommodate patients with heart failure will be considered. Methods: PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Science Direct, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, Google Scholar, and gray literature will be searched for articles that meet the inclusion criteria. Studies published in English from the inception of the database to the present will be considered. Eligible studies will be critically appraised using standardized JBI tools for qualitative synthesis. The findings will be pooled using a meta-aggregation approach. The final synthesized findings will be assessed according to the ConQual approach to establish confidence in qualitative research synthesis. Systematic review registration number: PROSPERO CRD42021229096