Sharing and Talking About my Preferences

CTI will receive telephone contact at three time points: baseline, two, and four months. Each contact consists of an integrated assessment and intervention feedback report, using an expert system. Participants are assessed for four different behaviors that together represent complete ACP engagement: communication with loved ones about views on quality of life versus quantity of life, communication with clinicians about views on quality of life versus quantity of life, assignment of a health care surrogate, and completion of a living will. The system takes the results of the assessment and results in an individualized feedback report.

MET will receive telephone contact at three time points: baseline, two, and four months. They will undergo the assessment as described above receive and they will receive a second a telephone contact within two weeks of the assessment, which will consist of an MET session. If the surrogate has been enrolled in the study, the MET will be conducted with both the Veteran and the surrogate in a dyadic telephone interview. The goal of the interview is to strengthen commitment to engage in ACP and promote self-efficacy. The interviewer will also help the Veteran to reflect on the pros and cons of ACP engagement as elicited in the assessment process, to understand how to build on ACP behaviors already engaged in, and, if appropriate, to help the Veteran create a change plan for further ACP engagement.

Participants assigned to CTI+MET will receive the CTI intervention at baseline, two months, and four months as described above. with a follow-up MET session as described above occurring within two weeks of each contact.