LVAD patients' and surrogates' perspectives on SPIRIT-HF: An advance care planning discussion

ObjectivesTo describe LVAD patients' and surrogates' experiences with, and perspectives on SPIRIT-HF, an advance care planning (ACP) intervention.BackgroundACP is important for patients with LVAD, yet little is known about their experiences or those of their surrogates who have participated in ACP discussions.MethodsWe used qualitative content analysis techniques to conduct a secondary analysis of 28 interviews with patients with LVAD (n = 14) and their surrogates (n = 14) who had participated in an RCT pilot study of SPIRIT-HF.ResultsMain themes from the data include: 1) sharing their HF stories was very beneficial; 2) participating in SPIRIT-HF led to greater peace of mind for patients and surrogates; 3) “one size does not fit all” when it comes to timing of ACP discussions.ConclusionsAn understanding patient and surrogate perspectives may inform clinicians' approach to ACP discussions.