A simple paper card that asked older adults about [what mattered most](https://www.mcknights.com/news/case-study-highlights-importance-of-what-matters-most-discussions-with-older-adults/) in their lives was effective at opening discussions related to their cognitive health and aging, according to the results of a study.
The [report](https://www.annfammed.org/content/23/2/117) was published Monday in _Annals of Family Medicine._
The purpose of the study was to assess how the paper card could promote discussions between patients, caregivers, families and clinicians regarding care for dementia, cognitive impairment and aging.
The researchers looked at the feasibility of the shared decision-making conversation tool and how it could be used. The card already had been rolled out by one of the study authors at a clinic in North Carolina.
The care card was piloted among 14 clinicians, including palliative care physicians, social workers and primary care doctors. The program was introduced at seven different settings. The card was used during in-person visits and phone calls. Interviews were conducted with doctors and clinicians, patients, caregivers and steering committee members.
The results showed that 41% of patients said the card was easy to use, 43% reported that the card helped them talk about things that matters most, 59% felt it was important to tell the provider what they found meaningful in life, and 32% said the card helped them come up with plans to meet their needs. Among participants, 65% said they would recommend the card for people who were aged 65 or more years.
Overall, using the card gave clinicians time to find out what mattered most to patients, enabled them to have discussions about personalized care, let them discuss social care needs, and touched on emotional relationships between families and individuals, according to the study authors.
“The ‘About Me’ care card appeared to broaden conversations compared with routine care,” they wrote, calling for more research to understand how to scale up the program for wider usage.It also promoted and drove much-needed conversations, especially when the level of cognitive impairment or burden was unknown, the team added.