Advance care planning for patients with inoperable lung cancer

AIM: To develop and pilot an advance care planning (ACP) intervention for lung cancer nurses to use in discussing end-of-life preferences and choices for care with patients diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. DESIGN: A prospective qualitative design with semistructured individual patient interviews. A grounded theory approach was used for the analysis. SAMPLE: Fifteen patients took part in ACP discussions with their nurse and nine agreed to be interviewed by a researcher about their perceptions of the intervention. RESULTS: Patients' reactions to the ACP process varied, but they welcomed the recording of their wishes and appreciated the courage of the nurses in bringing up the subject of future care. CONCLUSION: This study explored the role of ACP as a method of enabling patient choice for lung cancer patients in the UK. Further research is needed to determine the components of ACP and the training needs of staff.