NCT07439393

Using a Conversation Game to Engage Native American Washoe Tribe Members in Advance Care Planning: Preparation for a Clinical Trial

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 108 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Milton S. Hershey Medical Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The goal of this study is to learn if a culturally adapted version of the Hello game, an advance care planning (ACP) conversation tool, is feasible and acceptable for use with members of the Washoe Tribe. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can the Hello game be successfully adapted to reflect the cultural values, beliefs, and storytelling traditions of the Washoe Tribe? Does playing the adapted Hello game increase ACP engagement and advance directive (AD) completion among Washoe Tribe members within 3 months? Participants will: * Take part in talking circles at one of four Washoe reservations to share their beliefs, motivations, and experiences related to end-of-life care and advance care planning * Complete brief questionnaires about their ACP attitudes and behaviors * Play the culturally adapted Hello game in a group setting * Complete follow-up measures of ACP engagement and advance directive completion 3 months after playing the game

Conditions

• Advance Care Planning
• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Gamification

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Aim 1: Talking Circles	To expand study partnership with the Washoe tribe to further explore the needs, motivations, and barriers related to ACP and end-of-life decision-making for Tribal members and explore how findings converge or diverge from Western culture and across Washoe reservations. 2 talking circles (qualitative focus groups) will be conducted at each of the 4 Washoe reservations (n=8 groups, 48 individuals) along with brief questionnaires to: 1) explore beliefs about and motivations for ACP; 2) determine if and how storytelling plays a role in ACP; and 3) define meaningful and culturally appropriate ACP outcomes for the Washoe tribe.
BEHAVIORAL	Aim 2: Play Modified Hello Game	Adapt and pilot test the Hello conversation game for use by the Washoe Tribe while establishing procedures for measuring the game's impact on ACP engagement. This objective includes: a) incorporating tribal recommendations to culturally adapt the game based on findings from objective 1, and b) conducting a feasibility and acceptability study of the modified game with 60 Washoe tribal members (15 from each reservation) using convergent mixed methods to assess preliminary outcomes and refine procedures for the future clinical trial.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-06-01
• Primary completion: 2028-09-01
• Completion: 2028-09-01
• First posted: 2026-02-27
• Last updated: 2026-03-02