Latent Classes of Prognosis Conversations in Palliative Care: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Prognosis conversations are complex phenomena of substantial importance to palliative care (PC), yet these remain poorly understood. This study empirically identifies and describes major types of prognosis conversations that occur in the natural setting of PC consultation. Methods: We audio-recorded and coded 71 inpatient 'goals of care' PC consultations at a large academic medical center in the northeastern United States. We used quantitative Latent Class Analyses for identifying discrete prognosis conversation types and qualitative Dimensional Analyses for more fully describing the process and content of the latent classes. Results and Conclusions: We observed three discrete types of prognosis conversations, each placing different communication demands upon all participants for achieving goal-concordant care: Navigating Options & Goals (56% of consultations), Facilitating New Goals (23%) and Preparing for End-of-Life (21%). This study provides the first step for developing educational and clinical prognosis communication interventions that are tailored to common decision-making contexts facing seriously ill patients, their families, and PC clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]