“Hopes and wishes”: Goals of high-need, high-cost older patients and their caregivers

Abstract

Objective: Integration of patient-identified goals is a critical element of shared decision-making and patient-provider communication. There is limited information on the goals of patients with multiple medical conditions and high healthcare utilization. We aimed to identify and categorize the goals described by “high-need, high-cost” (HNHC) older patients and their caregivers. Methods: Using conventional content analysis, we used data from interviews conducted with 17 HNHC older patients (mean age 72.5 years) and 4 caregivers. Results: HNHC older patients and their caregivers used language such as “hopes, wishes, and wants” to describe their goals, which fell into eight categories: alleviating discomfort, having autonomy and control, decreasing treatment burden, maintaining physical functioning and engagement, leaving a legacy, extending life, having satisfying and effective relationships, and experiencing security. Conclusion: Our results contribute to knowledge of goals of HNHC patients and provides guidance for improving the patient-provider relationship and communication between HNHC older patients and their healthcare providers. Practice implications: Our findings can inform provider efforts to assess patient goals and engage high-need, high-cost older patients in shared decision-making. Further, this study contributes to an improved understanding of HNHC older patients to support continued development of effective care models for this population.