Efficacy Trial of a Digital Intervention Supporting Caregivers as Surrogate Decision Makers

Efficacy Trial of a Digital Intervention Supporting Caregivers as Surrogate Decision Makers | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Efficacy Trial of a Digital Intervention Supporting Caregivers as Surrogate Decision Makers Natasha Ureyang, Pin Sym Foong, Bryan Jing Dong Tan, Charisse Foo, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7042507/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Caregivers often feel unprepared to make surrogate decisions for seriously ill patients. To address this, we developed and trialed a caregiver-facing, interactive website tailored to known surrogate decision-making needs. 42 active caregivers used the website for 7-10 days, with data collected through pre-post surveys, usage analytics, and optional follow-up interviews (n=6). Participants showed significant improvements in engagement in advance care planning (ACP) behaviours across knowledge, contemplation, and readiness domains. Usage patterns suggest that the values elicitation segments were most efficacious. Participants also showed reduction in decisional conflict and improved perceptions towards ACP conversations, although barriers to initiate conversations remained. Interviews highlighted the website's informativeness and support for clinician interactions, while highlighting the need for more personalisation, peer witness, and applicability to real-world decisions. These findings offer early evidence that a caregiver-facing digital intervention can enhance surrogate decision-making preparedness in real-world conditions, with potential for scalability and long-term impact. Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Medical research Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology caregivers medical decisions values surrogate decision making digital health advance care planning Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7042507","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":487012296,"identity":"155318e9-216f-4b99-beee-6d663c8e45b7","order_by":0,"name":"Natasha 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