Goals of Care: A Nursing Home Trial of Decision Support for Advanced Dementia

The Quality of Communication (QOC) score with its End of Life (EOL) subscale score. Scores range 0-10 on QOC and its subscales, with higher scores indicating better communication quality.

Index score ranging from 0-10 with one point given for care plan addressing each domain: prognosis, goals of care, physical symptoms, emotional needs, spiritual needs, resuscitation, artificial feeding, intravenous fluids, antibiotics, hospitalization. Higher scores indicate better palliative care.

Satisfaction with Care at the End of Life in Dementia (SWC-EOLD) scale; 10 items rated 1-4 and summed with total potential range 10-40. Higher scores indicate better satisfaction.

Comfort Assessment in Dying for Dementia (CAD-EOLD) includes 14 items rated on a 3 point scale, summed for a total potential score of 14-42. Higher scores indicate better comfort.

The Alzheimer Disease Related Quality of Life scale (ADRQL) ranges from 0-100 with higher scores indicating better quality of life.

Quality of Dying in Long-term Care (QOD-LTC) instrument has 11 items in 3 subscales measuring personhood, closure and preparation for dying, for total scores ranging 5-55. Higher scores indicate better quality of the dying experience.

Number of participants who report discussions of goals of care with providers -- physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants or nursing home staff -- counted during follow-up

Number of participants with a referral to hospice services

Number and timing of transfer to hospital from nursing home care, measured as hospital transfers per 90 person-days of follow-up, with follow-up censored at death.