A new study published in Resuscitation Plus shows that the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) process can be successfully adapted outside the UK, offering valuable insights for countries looking to strengthen advance care planning.
ReSPECT is a UK wide emergency care and treatment planning process led by RCUK. It supports conversations between people and healthcare professionals about what would matter most to them in a medical emergency if they are unable to make or communicate decisions.
Researchers translated and pilot-tested the ReSPECT plan in Denmark across hospital, intensive care, primary care and palliative settings. The findings demonstrate that the process is both feasible and acceptable in a different healthcare and cultural context.
Patients, relatives and clinicians responded positively:
- Patients and families found the plan easy to understand and helpful in discussing future care
- Clinicians reported it supported structured, person-centred conversations
- Most agreed it could improve clarity and decision-making in emergency situations
The study also highlighted the importance of adapting the process to local legal and healthcare systems, with Danish clinicians identifying areas where wording and format could be refined.
Overall, the findings reinforce that while ReSPECT is well established in the UK, it has strong potential as an international model for advance care planning, provided it is tailored to national contexts.
This work offers important learning for countries adopting or considering adopting ReSPECT, demonstrating how the process can be effectively translated across different cultural settings.