Defining Advance Care Planning for Adults: A Consensus Definition From a Multidisciplinary Delphi Panel

Context Despite increasing interest in advance care planning (ACP) and previous ACP descriptions, a consensus definition does not yet exist to guide clinical, research, and policy initiatives. Objective The aim of this study was to develop a consensus definition of ACP for adults. Methods We convened a Delphi panel of multidisciplinary, international ACP experts consisting of 52 clinicians, researchers, and policy leaders from four countries and a patient/surrogate advisory committee. We conducted 10 rounds using a modified Delphi method and qualitatively analyzed panelists’ input. Panelists identified several themes lacking consensus and iteratively discussed and developed a final consensus definition. Results Panelists identified several tensions concerning ACP concepts such as whether the definition should focus on conversations vs. written advance directives; patients’ values vs. treatment preferences; current shared decision making vs. future medical decisions; and who should be included in the process. The panel achieved a final consensus one-sentence definition and accompanying goals statement: “Advance care plannin