National Healthcare Decisions Day 2023
National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), occurring on April 16 each year, exists to inspire, educate and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning.
NHDD, run by The Conversation Project (TCP), is an initiative to encourage patients to express their wishes regarding healthcare and for providers and facilities to respect those wishes, whatever they may be. Advance Care Planning tools and resources are available on TCP's website, including:
- Your Conversation Starter Guide
- What Matters to Me Workbook
- UPDATED: Your Conversation Starter Guide: For Caregivers of People with Alzheimer’s or Other Forms of Dementia
- Three ideas for solo agers to keep in mind
- A guide to supporting others through a difficult diagnosis
- How to tell someone your wishes when they don’t want to listen
- 11 ideas for when someone is having a hard time talking about their wishes for health care
- Video: Who will speak for you?
- Videos: Ever wish you could review a conversation?
- How to create your advance care plan series with The Conversation Project, episode 4 and episode 5 – podcast series with host The Heart of Hospice (of 5 episodes in the series)
Relevant resources from other JAHF grantees and partners related to advance care planning include:
- PREPARE For Your Care is an interactive website serving as a resource for individuals navigating medical decision-making. New PREPARE For THEIR Care program as a resource to help caregivers.
- Fast-Forward documentary (available on Amazon), related courses and a digital toolkit of resources and master checklist from Next Avenue.
- NASHP POLST Blog: End of Life Planning – Best Practices in POLST.
- AARP Grief, Loss and End of Life Resource Center contains perspectives on starting advance care planning discussions and facilitating discussions with adult children about end of life planning.
- The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) and VitalTalk's conversation scripts and video examples of how to talk to patients and families about advance care planning.
- CAPC video on Talking to the Press about Palliative Care.
- Serious Illness Messaging Toolkit is an online resource for public messaging about care for serious illnesses.
- FAIR Health actionable tools with healthcare cost information for older adults and family caregivers.
- JAMA Viewpoint: Shifting to Serious Illness Communication (2022)
Visit the NHDD website.
Join the movement to promote advance care planning.
Go to TCP's resources for NHDD.
Go to the National POLST.