LAUSR

CONTEXT No prospective studies address disease-specific advance care planning (ACP) for adults living with HIV/AIDS. OBJECTIVE To examine the efficacy of FAmily-CEntered (FACE) ACP in increasing ACP and advance directive documentation in the medical record. METHODS Longitudinal, two-arm, randomized controlled trial with intent-to-treat design recruited from five hospital-based outpatient HIV clinics in Washington, DC. Adults living with HIV and their surrogate decision-makers (N = 233 dyads) were randomized to either an intensive facilitated two-session FACE ACP (Next Steps: Respecting Choices goals of care conversation and Five Wishes advance directive) or healthy living control (conversations about developmental/relationship history and nutrition). RESULTS Patients (n = 223) mean age: 51 years, 56% male, 86% African-American. One hundred ninety-nine dyads participated in the intervention. At baseline, only 13% of patients had an advance directive. Three months after intervention, this increased to 59% for the FACE ACP group versus 17% in the control group (P < 0.0001). Controlling for race, the odds of having an advance directive in the medical record in the FACE ACP group was approximately seven times greater than controls (adjusted odds ratio = 6.58, 95% CI: 3.21-13.51, P < 0.0001). Among African-Americans randomized to FACE, 58% had completed/documented advance directives versus 20% of controls (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The FACE ACP intervention significantly improved ACP completion and advance directive documentation in the medical record among both African-American and non-African-American adults living with HIV in Washington, DC, providing health equity in ACP, which can inform best practices.