Advance Care Planning (ACP) is about making sure your end-of-life and healthcare wishes for care are heard loud and clear when you can’t speak for yourself. Many transgender and gender‑expansive individuals face unique barriers in healthcare: fear of disclosing identity, marginalization, and forms that ignore critical details like chosen names, pronouns, and gender presentation. These barriers are even present in end‑of‑life planning, funeral arrangements, and obituaries.
We’re changing that. Our project aims to create safe, affirming workshops and a tailored ACP form so you can document your medical decisions and your identity preferences in a legally sound way to protect your dignity, in life and after death.
We will be hosting a “Coffee, Cake, and Care Planning” workshop on October 14th at 2:45pm PST at GenPride (1521 Broadway, Suite A, Seattle, 98122) to talk about advance care planning.
Click here to download the workshop flyer or go here to sign up: https://redcap.iths.org/surveys/?s=3P4JYNJAXHRAPYKA
Advance care planning (ACP) is a process in which you think about, discuss, and document your preferences for future medical care in case you become unable to make decisions for yourself.
It typically involves:
- Reflecting on your values and goals for care, such as quality of life, independence, or comfort.
- Learning about possible treatment options and outcomes; such as life support, resuscitation, or pain management.
- Choosing a trusted person (often called a healthcare proxy, substitute decision-maker, or durable power of attorney for healthcare) to speak on your behalf if you cannot.
- Documenting your wishes in legal forms such as an advance directive or living will.
Key purposes:
- Ensure that medical decisions align with your values.
- Reduce stress and conflict for family members during medical crises.
- Guide healthcare teams in providing appropriate care.
Examples of decisions included in ACP:
- Whether or not to receive resuscitation (CPR)
- Use of mechanical ventilation or feeding tubes
- Goals for end-of-life care, such as remaining at home or in hospice
- Organ and tissue donation preferences
Advance care planning is recommended for all adults, not just those who are seriously ill, because unexpected medical events can occur at any time.
We’re inviting transgender and gender‑expansive community members of all ages to join a workshop. This workshop will cover:
- Language you can use. Advance care planning, advance directive/health care directive, living will, health care proxy, medical power of attorney, financial power of attorney, agent to control disposition of remains, capacity.
- Clarity on your own wishes: Gender-affirming care during illness, post-death wishes, and who should and should not be involved.
- How to start the conversation: A framework for talking with loved ones about serious illness, end of life care, and funeral planning.
- Practical knowledge about paperwork: How to understand and fill out the documents that make your healthcare wishes legally binding.
- A concrete plan: Either completed, legally valid documents, or a plan to finish, witness or notarize, and distribute them.
We will also have a notary available to notarize any completed documentation completed during the workshop – free of charge!
You don’t need to be an ACP expert. We’re looking for people who want to learn more about ACP. Even if you are aware of ACP, during this workshop, we can support you in filling out ACP paperwork and getting it notarized for further legal documentation. You can also scroll down to read some brief information about ACP.
Your voice matters, and your perspective can help make end‑of‑life planning more inclusive and affirming for our communities.
Unfortunately, in healthcare settings, chosen names, pronouns, and identity-affirming preferences are not always consistently honored, even when someone is able to advocate for themselves. These risks increase when a person cannot speak on their own behalf and don’t have their wishes documented. Advance care planning becomes especially important in these moments, including clearly designating a trusted health care proxy to advocate for your wishes after death.
Having an advance care plan, a designated health care proxy, and clearly documented wishes for posthumous gender-affirming care helps ensure that:
- Your affirmed name, pronouns, and gender identity are honored in medical settings and after death
- Decisions about your body, presentation, and remembrance align with who you are and what you want
- Gender-affirming preferences are clearly documented rather than left to interpretation
- A trusted person has both the authority and guidance to advocate for your wishes
If you’d like to join, you can review the consent form and enroll here: https://redcap.iths.org/surveys/?s=HC4FY74EXXYMWFDT
If you’d like more information or to talk to someone on the study team, email us at transcend@uw.edu
If you are interested, you can click here to review and sign the consent form and answer a few introductory questions to help us understand who will be attending the workshop. The workshop will be on October 14th at 2:45pm-5pm at GenPride: 1521 Broadway, Suite A, Seattle, 98122. Following the workshop, we will ask you to complete a post-workshop survey and a 1-month follow-up survey. This will help us evaluate the workshop and make improvements for the future!
You can sign up here: https://redcap.iths.org/surveys/?s=3P4JYNJAXHRAPYKA.
If you have some additional questions, you can email us at transcend@uw.edu.