Abstract
Primary care providers are the best individuals to have advance care planning (ACP) conversations with patients due to their familiarity and knowledge of the patient’s health history, but the shortage of these providers and the limited time per visit to educate and help the patient make decisions limits their ability to hold these conversations. Community education sessions have been found to not only increase knowledge but also influence and change behavior. The purpose of this study was to hold community education sessions regarding ACP and advance directives (AD) to increase patient knowledge and increase the number of individuals who plan on obtaining AD. 26 participants were surveyed before, immediately after, and two-months after two education sessions. Independent t-tests were utilized to determine significance of the survey results. There was a significant increase (p = .004) in self-perceived knowledge of AD from pre-session to immediately post-session, and maintained this significance (p < .001) from pre-session to two-months post-session. In the pre-session survey, no individuals planned on obtaining or updating an AD in the two months following the session. Three indicated that they planned to in the immediate post-survey, and five participants indicated that they did obtain or update an advance directive in the two months after the sessions in the two-month post-session survey. This study supports community education sessions as another mode clinics and providers can use to increase community knowledge and influence behavior change, and are a starting point for what can be achieved with more community education on AD and other topics.
Sigma Membership
Gamma Pi at-Large
Lead Author Affiliation
Nebraska Methodist College, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Type
DNP Capstone Project
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Descriptive/Correlational
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Community Education, Advance Care Planning, Advance Directives, End-of-Life Planning, Advance Directives (Medical Care), Life Care Planning
Advisor
Margaret E. Kinney
Degree
DNP
Degree Grantor
Nebraska Methodist College
Degree Year
2026
Recommended Citation
Monhollon, Haley R. and Kinney, Margaret E., "Advance Care Planning Education in the Community" (2026). Group: Nebraska Methodist College. 101.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/group_nmc/101
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Self-submission
Date of Issue
2026-07-09
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
Doctoral Course, NRS 882: Doctoral Scholarly Project III