Kit for facilitating conversations

Abstract

A card game kit for use as a planning tool to help people have conversations about difficult decisions is disclosed. The kit includes a deck of cards and instructions for their use. The cards identify potential outcomes and the instructions teach how to prioritize these outcomes such that the person considering issues can engage in focused communication about what is important to that person. In preferred embodiments the planning is advance care planning, the person is a person considering the last portion of that person's life and the outcomes are final outcomes.

1 . A kit for focusing planning by or for a person, the kit including a plurality of cards, each card bearing a depiction of a different outcome potentially desired by the person and instructions to the person and/or another acting in that person's behalf to select from that plurality of cards those cards which most closely reflect the outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to others the identity of these most-closely-reflecting selected cards. 
   
   
       2 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein the planning is advance care planning, the person is a person considering the last portion of that person's life and the outcome is a final outcome. 
   
   
       3 . The kit of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of cards is from about 20 cards to about 50 cards and preferably is from about 25 cards to about 45 cards. 
   
   
       4 . The kit or  claim 1  wherein the depiction is selected from a verbal depiction, a graphic depiction or a combination verbal/graphic depiction. 
   
   
       5 . A kit for focusing planning by or for a person including a plurality of cards the majority of these cards each bearing a depiction of a different outcome potentially desired by the person and the remainder of the cards being wild cards not bearing a depiction of a different final outcome but to which the person and/or another acting in that person's behalf can ascribe a final outcome identified by the person but not reflected in the different outcomes borne by the majority cards and instructions to the person and/or another acting in that person's behalf to select from that plurality of cards those cards which most closely reflect the outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to others the identity of these most-closely-reflecting selected cards. 
   
   
       6 . The kit of  claim 5  wherein the planning is advance care planning, the person is a person considering the last portion of that person's life and the outcome is a final outcome. 
   
   
       7 . The kit of  claim 6  wherein the plurality of cards is from about 20 cards to about 50 cards and wherein the remainder of the cards is from one to about ten cards. 
   
   
       8 . The kit of  claim 1  or  claim 5  wherein the instructions further include instructions to the person and/or another acting in that person's behalf to select from that plurality of cards those cards which least closely reflect the outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to others the identity of these least-closely-reflecting selected cards. 
   
   
       9 . The kit of  claim 8  wherein the instructions further include instructions to the person and/or another acting in that person's behalf to select or select and rank the about ten cards as to which most closely reflect the outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to others the selection and/or rankings of the about ten cards. 
   
   
       10 . The kit of  claim 1  or  claim 5  wherein the others to whom the identify of cards is communicated includes one or more persons selected from family members and potential agents. 
   
   
       11 . The kit of  claim 11  wherein the agent is a health care agent and wherein the planning is medical care advance directive planning and the outcome is a final outcome. 
   
   
       12 . A kit for focusing and communicating to a potential agent planning by or for a person, the kit including two or more at least substantially identical decks of cards, each of which decks includes a plurality of cards, each card bearing a depiction of a different outcome potentially desired by the person and instructions to that person and/or to another acting in that person's behalf to select from a first deck of cards those cards which most closely reflect the outcomes desired by that person and to thereafter communicate to the potential agent the identity of these most-closely-reflecting selected cards and instructions to the potential agent to select from the second deck of cards those cards which to the potential agent most closely reflect the outcomes desired by that person and to thereafter communicate to the person and/or to another acting in that person's behalf the identity of these cards selected as most-closely-reflecting by the potential agent. 
   
   
       13 . The kit of  claim 12  wherein the agent in a healthcare agent, the planning is advance care planning, the person is a person considering the last portion of that person's life and the outcome is a final outcome. 
   
   
       14 . A kit for use in focusing and communicating to an agent planning by or for a person the kit including two or more at least substantially identical decks of cards, each of which decks includes a plurality of cards, the majority of these cards each bearing a depiction of a different outcome potentially desired by the person and the remainder of the cards being wild cards not bearing a different outcome but to which the person and/or another acting in the person's behalf or the agent can ascribe an outcome not reflected in the different outcomes borne by the majority cards and instructions to the person and/or to another acting in that person's behalf to select from that plurality of cards those cards which most closely reflect the outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to the potential agent the identity of these most-closely-reflecting selected cards and instructions to the agent to select from the second deck of cards those cards which to the agent most closely reflect the outcomes desired by that person and to thereafter communicate to the person and/or to another acting in that person's behalf the identity of these cards selected as most-closely-reflecting by the agent. 
   
   
       15 . The kit of  claim 14  wherein the planning is advance care planning, the person is a person considering the last portion of that person's life, the outcome and outcomes are is a final outcome or finial outcomes and the agent is a potential health care agent. 
   
   
       16 . The kit of  claim 15  wherein the instructions to the person and/or another acting in that person's behalf and to the potential health care agent additionally call for the person and/or another on the one hand and the potential health care agent on the other hand to compare the cards selected by both parties and to discuss how the cards selected by the person and/or another acting in that person's behalf agree with or differ from those selected by the potential health care agent. 
   
   
       17 . The kit of  claim 16  wherein the instructions further call for the parties to attempt to arrive at a consensus of cards based on their respective selections. 
   
   
       18 . The kit of  claim 16  wherein the plurality of cards is from about 20 cards to about 50 cards and the remainder of the cards is from one to about ten cards. 
   
   
       19 . The kit of  claim 16  wherein the instructions further include instructions to the person and/or to another acting in that person's behalf to select from that person's plurality of cards those cards which least closely reflect the final outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to the potential health care agent the identity of these least-closely-reflecting selected cards. 
   
   
       20 . The kit of  claim 19  wherein the instructions further include instructions to the potential health care agent to select from the potential health care agent's plurality of cards those cards which least closely reflect the final outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to the person the identity of these least-closely-reflecting selected cards. 
   
   
       21 . The kit of  claim 20  wherein the instructions further include instructions to the person and/or person acting in that person's behalf and/or to the potential health care agent to identify about ten cards which are considered to most closely reflect the final outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to the other the identity of the about ten cards. 
   
   
       22 . The kit of  claim 21  wherein the instructions further include instructions to the person and/or another acting in that person's behalf and/or to the potential health care agent to rank the about ten cards as to which most closely reflect the final outcomes desired by the person and to thereafter communicate to the others the rankings of the about ten cards to the other.