[Barriers perceived by advance care planning (ACP) facilitators in nursing and welfare professions in implementing ACP: An online survey].

Aim: This study aimed to elucidate the barriers perceived by Advance Care Planning (ACP) facilitators in nursing and welfare professions when implementing ACP in practice.

Methods: An online survey using Google Forms was conducted between December 2021 and January 2022. The survey targeted 220 individuals, including 82 who completed the Hiroshima Prefecture ACP Promotion Training in 2020 and 138 ACP Promotion Collaborators in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. In addition to the respondents' attributes, the survey asked about the importance of 37 items related to barriers to ACP implementation, using a 7-point scale. We compared two groups: nurses and physicians ("nurses/physicians") and other medical and nursing care professionals ("nursing care professionals, etc.").

Results: Responses were obtained from 67 participants (response rate: 34.4%). The barriers to ACP perceived by nursing care professionals were as follows: 1) lack of knowledge about ACP, 2) belief that other professions are more suitable for implementing ACP than themselves, and 3) difficulty in realizing intentions due to institutional and environmental factors. Nurses and physicians perceived lack of time as an important barrier. Measures such as 1) clarifying how different professions should be involved in ACP, 2) expanding educational opportunities tailored to each profession, 3) utilizing tools to support the decision-making process in ACP, and 4) establishing an information-sharing system infrastructure are considered to be effective in promoting the implementation of ACP by facilitators in the nursing and welfare professions.

Conclusions: By implementing measures to address the barriers identified in this study, it is expected that the practice of ACP by facilitators in nursing and welfare professions will be promoted, and ACP will become more widespread in the community.