Effects of intervention by trained care managers on advance care planning engagement among long-term care service users in Japan: a pre- and post-pilot comparative study across multiple institutions.

Background: A majority of Japanese care managers lack medical qualifications, feel uncomfortable discussing future medical choices and believe that it is not their responsibility.

Objectives: As there is a paucity of care manager intervention studies, this study aimed to measure changes in advance care planning engagement among long-term care service users before and after intervention by care managers with communication training.

Design: A multi-institutional pre- and post-pilot comparative study.