The use of audience response system to promote advance care planning in community and veterans care home

Introduction The concept of advance care planning (ACP) is new for residents in community and those living in Veterans Care Home (VCH). To increase their interest and understanding of ACP, an interactive audience response system (ARS) was introduced to facilitate the discussion of ACP.

Method and results Most participants can live independently. They watch TV every day and can easily handle the remote control device. The device of ARS is similar to the remote control and can be easily managed by community elderly. A video clip about ACP was presented and followed by multiple choice questions about the concept of ACP. ACP introductory sessions were delivered in the community and VCH. A total of 2596 habitants participated in the program from September to November 2010. 704 used ARS to finished the session. The satisfaction was higher for those using ARS in the session (69∼92%) than those using the traditional deductive method (38∼69%).

Conclusion ARS is an effective method to promote the discussion of ACP in the community and care home. There are high interactions between the speaker and residents. It can be used effectively even with the elderly people.