Project Talk Initiative Host Site Applications

Erika VanDyke
evandyke1@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

The goal of the Project Talk Trial is to evaluate the impact of several approaches to promote advance care planning in underserved populations such as ethnic and racial minority backgrounds, rural communities, and low-income areas. This is an opportunity for community-based organizations to apply to serve as host sites, facilitate conversations, and evaluate facilitation tools in underserved communities.

Three community conversation activity tools will be assessed:

• An end-of-life conversation game that prompts players to share their values, goals, and beliefs about end-of-life issues using a booklet of 32 questions
• An 11-page guide with open-ended prompts that encourages people to talk about their wishes for end-of-life care, share their wishes, consider their values and preferences, and rank their priorities
• A commercially available game that consists of question cards to prompt social engagement through light-hearted conversations

Hosts must agree to:

• Recruit a minimum of 20 underserved adults for the event
• Recruit from underserved populations such as those from ethnic and racial minority backgrounds, rural communities, and low-income areas
• Agree to host an event regardless of the activity tool that was randomly assigned
• Host an event using only project-provided materials (materials available in Spanish)
• Selected organizations will identify at least one staff person to attend 4 hours of online training
• Host an event according to the project timeline
• Provide an appropriate person to lead the event
• Provide an appropriate venue for the event

Eligible individuals and community-based organizations interested in hosting an event are invited to apply.

Sites will be selected and randomly assigned to one of three groups to evaluate one of the conversation tools. A certain number of sites selected will involve Spanish-speaking communities.

Most events are completed within 9 - 12 months.

Selected hosts will receive training, resources, and a $300 stipend to support marketing and event expenses.

Complete the online application at the bottom of the program website.