A 2016 study in B.C. showed that public engagement in ACP is low. Through the Seed Grant initiative, the BC Centre for Palliative Care (BCCPC) partnered with 15 community-based organizations to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of the Hello conversation card game in engaging the public in ACP conversations. The game questions are designed to stimulate conversations about issues relevant to decision-making in the context of a serious illness.
Across B.C., 479 people participated in 38 game events hosted by the community organizations. After playing the game, over 90% of participants felt it was a positive experience, 76% agreed that the game made conversations about end-of-life issues less heavy, and 86% planned to Think more about their health care wishes and Talk with family and health care providers.
BCCPC launched a provincial program in November 2019 to make Hello game kits available to more community organizations: www.bc-cpc.ca/cpc/hello/. The original target was to distribute 1000 game booklets by March 2019. With promotion of National ACP Day, 2000 game booklets have been distributed to more than 100 organizations that have eagerly created events to engage the public in conversations that matter.
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