Church leaders and parishioners speak out about the role of the church in advance care planning and end-of-life care

2020

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

African Americans (AA) experience health inequalities that affect their utilization of advance care planning (ACP) and hospice and palliative care at end of life (EOL). Faith-based health promotion models may be applicable to ACP and EOL care literacy for this population. The purpose of this integrative review was to examine the literature highlighting participant responses to ACP and EOL care literacy initiatives in AA faith communities. An integrative literature review was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PsychINFO. Eight primary sources met inclusion criteria. Findings from these studies indicate that integration of AA religious beliefs and practices into ACP and EOL care educational programs may enhance the efficacy of these efforts in promoting ACP, advance directive completion, and hospice use. Building trust, creating community partnerships, and involving church leadership in ACP and EOL care literacy promotion efforts serve as important elements to inform future initiatives.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Advance Care Planning and End of Life Care Literacy Initiatives in African American Faith Communities: A Systematic Integrative Review

Catlett

2020

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

“…For instance, church-based models have been described as effective in community-led ACP education initiatives. 9 , 22 – 25 A notable example of a successful community-based initiative partnered with churches to train African American ‘lay health workers’. 9 , 25 Exploring a broader range of organizations to implement community-led ACP initiatives and investigating any differences in implementation experiences between organization types would be worthwhile future research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A model for community-led peer-facilitated advance care planning workshops for the public

Carter,

Hassan,

Porterfield

et al. 2023

Palliat�Care

Background: The core to successful advance care planning (ACP) facilitation is helping people determine their values, beliefs and wishes, and understand substitute decision-making. Recognizing the potential for community members to support public awareness and education we developed a model of ACP education, whereby peer facilitators associated with community organizations host workshops that educate and assist members of the public with ACP. Objectives: Describe the development and evaluation of the model for community-led peer-facilitated ACP workshops for the public. Design: Descriptive mixed methods. Methods: A training curriculum and program model were co-developed with two community organizations that had been successful in delivering ACP workshops independently in their communities. Herein we describe a mixed-methods evaluation of three cycles of implementation and improvement of the model. Results: The model centers on three key concepts; the right content (based around three steps Think, Talk, Plan), the right facilitator, and the right approach. A suite of tools was designed to support the three groups involved in the delivery of the ACP workshops: the public participants, the peer facilitators, and the community-based organizations. The peer-facilitator training addresses the facilitator’s learning needs of ACP content knowledge, facilitation skills, and understanding change behavior. Training evaluation data from 106 facilitators confirmed that the curriculum prepared them to facilitate the workshops. Qualitative data revealed that support from organizations with established reputations in their community is critical, with mentoring from more experienced facilitators beneficial. Conclusion: Our model demonstrates the potential of community-led, peer-facilitated ACP initiatives to enhance the capacity of community to upstream ACP conversations. Reaching a broader audience and creating a supportive, inclusive environment for individuals to comfortably learn about ACP can drive the much-needed culture shift to normalize ACP. Meaningful community engagement, empowerment, and partnerships are essential for the successful development and widespread impact of these initiatives.

“…Epps and colleagues12 describe the church as a key public health partner. Predominantly African American churches have untapped resources—parishioners, parish nurses, and existing health ministries—who are willing to receive training on ACP and EOL care services to increase knowledge on these issues within their church 13. State law and policy now support the training of qualified people to facilitate ACP in several states such as Virginia14–16 and to recognize a broader range of strategies to record ACP wishes 17.…”

Section: Background and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Predominantly African American churches have untapped resourcesparishioners, parish nurses, and existing health ministries-who are willing to receive training on ACP and EOL care services to increase knowledge on these issues within their church. 13 State law and policy now support the training of qualified people to facilitate ACP in several states such as Virginia [14][15][16] and to recognize a broader range of strategies to record ACP wishes. 17 As liaisons to churches, health care providers such as nurses, physicians, social workers, pharmacists, and specially trained lay ACP facilitators can provide partnership in unique coalitions among the community and health system, facilitating education and training on ACP.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Church Matters

Williams

Family &Amp; Community Health

2023

For many African American adults, the church has the potential to be a place to receive education about advance care planning (ACP). The current study was conducted to (1) identify the frequency of ACP conversations and caregiving and (2) evaluate interest in church-placed end-of-life (EOL) care education. Data were collected from parishioners in 2 African American churches in an urban city in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Individuals older than 50 years reported a higher frequency of caregiving (P < .001) and were more likely to have talked to someone about EOL care (P < .001) than individuals younger than 50 years. Nearly all respondents considered EOL conversations "important" or "very important" (99.1%) and wanted more information about EOL conversations available via the church (95.8%). Our findings suggest EOL conversations are happening within families and with health care providers, but they are not documented in ways (eg, in writing) that research has focused on previously. Future EOL education will focus more on the importance of documenting and sharing EOL care wishes with family and health care professionals.