Advancing Advance Care Planning: Evaluating a Revised Version of Voicing My CHOiCES.

Abstract

Introduction: Voicing My CHOiCES (VMC) is an advance care planning (ACP) guide designed to assist adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with serious illness in communicating their care preferences to others. This study evaluated a revised version of VMC. Methods and Materials: A structured interview was used alongside two versions of VMC to solicit AYA preferences and feedback regarding content and layout changes. Results: Overall, participants preferred Version 2; and largely agreed on the inclusion of new pages related to their personal information, children, and additional reflections. Most AYAs (95.5%) found the guide helpful for thinking about their care. Conclusions: Study findings support updates to VMC that specifically reflect AYAs end-of-life (EoL) preferences and emphasize the value of engaging AYAs in ACP conversations directly related to their specific concerns, priorities, and preferences. Use of VMC has potential for enhancing overall quality of care and quality of life for AYAs at EoL.