Development of an Advance Care Planning Pilot Module for New York City Community Members.

Abstract

Advance care planning (ACP) facilitates discussions about future healthcare decisions to ensure alignment with individuals' values, goals, and medical preferences. Despite its benefits, ACP engagement and completion of advance directives (AD) remain limited due to low awareness, misconceptions, and structural barriers. The Tisch Cancer Institute Community Outreach and Engagement Department at Mount Sinai in New York City (NYC) identified this knowledge gap as a key community need. In response, a community-based educational module was created to enhance ACP and AD knowledge. Curriculum development was informed by a literature review and collaboration with health educators, social workers, and palliative care specialists. The intervention included a 30-minute slideshow, a two-page glossary and resource handout, and a healthcare proxy AD form. Workshop impact, acceptability, and feedback were assessed using a validated survey with eight Likert-scale items and two open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics summarized quantitative responses, and thematic analysis was applied to open-ended feedback. Community adult members across NYC participated in eleven workshops held at diverse community sites from June 2024 to June 2025, engaging 141 individuals with a feedback survey response rate of approximately 40% (N = 56). Findings demonstrated acceptability and feasibility. Participants reported increased understanding of ACP concepts and improved confidence in completing ADs. Qualitative comments emphasized clarity, relevance, and practicality of materials. Our community-based educational workshops effectively enhanced ACP knowledge and empowered participants in healthcare decision-making. Future directions include expanding workshop reach, translating materials, and conducting longitudinal follow-up to evaluate sustained engagement and impact on AD completion rates over time.