Table 4 Search strategies. Comprehensive search strategies used to identify articles for each database

MEDLINE, including Ovid MEDLINE Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, and Ovid MEDLINE Daily (1946-present)

(exp Peer Group/ or exp. Volunteers/ or exp. Mentors/ or exp. Patient Navigation/ or (voluntary or peer* or volunteer* or mentor* or navigator* or lay*).tw,kf.) and (exp Advance Care Planning/ or exp. Hospices/ or exp. Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing/ or exp. Palliative Medicine/ or exp. Palliative Care/ or exp. Terminal Care/ or (Living Will* or Medical Power* Attorney or Health Care Power* Attorney or Healthcare Power* Attorney or advance* care plan* or advance* directive* or advance* health care plan* or advance* healthcare plan* or advance* medical plan* or hospice* or palliative or terminal care or end-of-life).tw,kf.) and (exp Patient Education as Topic/ or exp. Counseling/or exp. Information Dissemination/ or exp. Teaching/ or exp. Consumer Health Information/ or (discussion* or coaching or navigation* or navigating or learning or awareness or training or conversation* or engag* or promotion* or story or stories or experienc* or sharing or educator* or education* or educating or encourag* or teaching or counseling or information or knowledge or communicat*).tw,kf.) and (exp Qualitative Research/ or exp. Grounded Theory/ or exp. Interviews as Topic/ or exp. Focus Groups/ or exp. Nursing Methodology Research/ or exp. anecdotes as topic/ or exp. narration/ or exp. “surveys and questionnaires”/ or exp. personal narratives as topic/ or exp. Observational Studies as Topic/ or exp. interview/ or exp. personal narratives/ or exp. observational study/ or (qualitative or ethnograph* or phenomenol* or grounded theor* or purposive sampl* or hermeneutic* or heuristic* or semiotics or lived experience* or narrat* or life experience* or cluster sample* or action research or observational method* or content analys* or thematic analys* or constant comparative method* or field stud* or theoretical sampl* or discourse analys* or focus group* or ethnological research or ethnomethodolog* or interview* or mixed method* or mixed model* or mixed design* or survey* or questionnaire* or anecdote*).tw,kf.)

Results = 745

PsycINFO via Ovid (1806 to March Week 2 2017)

(exp peers/ or exp. volunteers/ or mentor/ or (voluntary or peer* or volunteer* or mentor* or navigator* or lay*).ab,ti.) and (exp advance directives/ or exp. Palliative Care/ or exp. hospice/ or (Living Will* or Medical Power* Attorney or Health Care Power* Attorney or Healthcare Power* Attorney or advance* care plan* or advance* directive* or advance* health care plan* or advance* healthcare plan* or advance* medical plan* or hospice* or palliative or terminal care or end-of-life).ab,ti.) and (exp peer education/ or exp. Community Counseling/ or exp. Educational Counseling/ or exp. Peer Counseling/ or exp. information dissemination/ or exp. teaching/ or exp. consumer education/ or exp. death education/ or (discussion* or coaching or navigation* or navigating or learning or awareness or training or conversation* or engag* or promotion* or story or stories or experienc* or sharing or educator* or education* or educating or encourag* or teaching or counseling or information or knowledge or communicat*).ab,ti.) and (exp qualitative research/ or exp. grounded theory/ or exp. Interviews/ or exp. Narratives/ or exp. surveys/ or exp. questionnaires/ or exp. narratives/ or (qualitative or ethnograph* or phenomenol* or grounded theor* or purposive sampl* or hermeneutic* or heuristic* or semiotics or lived experience* or narrat* or life experience* or cluster sample* or action research or observational method* or content analys* or thematic analys* or constant comparative method* or field stud* or theoretical sampl* or discourse analys* or focus group* or ethnological research or ethnomethodolog* or interview* or mixed method* or mixed model* or mixed design* or survey* or questionnaire* or anecdote*).ab,ti.)

Publication types were limited to (“0100 journal” or “0110 peer-reviewed journal” or “0120 non-peer-reviewed journal” or “0130 peer-reviewed status unknown”).

Results = 277

CINAHL Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) via EBSCOhost

(MH “Peer Group” OR MH “Volunteer Workers” OR MH “Volunteer Experiences” OR TI (voluntary or peer* or volunteer* or mentor* or navigator* or lay*) OR AB (voluntary or peer* or volunteer* or mentor* or navigator* or lay*)) AND (MH “Advance Care Planning” OR MH “Advance Directives+” OR MH “Hospice Patients” OR MH “Hospice and Palliative Nursing” OR MH “Hospices” OR MH “Terminal Care+” OR MH “Palliative Care” OR TI (Living Will* or Medical Power* Attorney or Health Care Power* Attorney or Healthcare Power* Attorney or advance* care plan* or advance* directive* or advance* health care plan* or advance* healthcare plan* or advance* medical plan* or hospice* or palliative or terminal care or end-of-life) OR AB (Living Will* or Medical Power* Attorney or Health Care Power* Attorney or Healthcare Power* Attorney or advance* care plan* or advance* directive* or advance* health care plan* or advance* healthcare plan* or advance* medical plan* or hospice* or palliative or terminal care or end-of-life)) AND (MH “Patient Education+” OR MH “Counseling+” OR MH “Teaching” OR MH “Death Education” OR MH “Consumer Health Information+” OR TI (discussion* or coaching or navigation* or navigating or learning or awareness or training or conversation* or engag* or promotion* or story or stories or experienc* or sharing or educator* or education* or educating or encourag* or teaching or counseling or information or knowledge or communicat*) OR AB (discussion* or coaching or navigation* or navigating or learning or awareness or training or conversation* or engag* or promotion* or story or stories or experienc* or sharing or educator* or education* or educating or encourag* or teaching or counseling or information or knowledge or communicat*)) AND (MH “Qualitative Studies+” OR MH “Ethnological Research” OR MH “Action Research” OR MH “Phenomenological Research” OR MH “Ethnographic Research” OR MH “Field Studies” OR MH “Grounded Theory” OR MH “Multimethod Studies” OR MH “Survey Research” OR MH “Phenomenology” OR MH “Focus Groups” OR MH “Interviews+” OR MH “Narratives” OR MH “Surveys+” OR MH “Observational Methods+” OR MH “Discourse Analysis” OR MH “Thematic Analysis” OR MH “Content Analysis” OR MH “Qualitative Validity+” OR TI (qualitative or ethnograph* or phenomenol* or grounded theor* or purposive sampl* or hermeneutic* or heuristic* or semiotics or lived experience* or narrat* or life experience* or cluster sample* or action research or observational method* or content analys* or thematic analys* or constant comparative method* or field stud* or theoretical sampl* or discourse analys* or focus group* or ethnological research or ethnomethodolog* or interview* or mixed method* or mixed model* or mixed design* or survey* or questionnaire* or anecdote*) OR AB (qualitative or ethnograph* or phenomenol* or grounded theor* or purposive sampl* or hermeneutic* or heuristic* or semiotics or lived experience* or narrat* or life experience* or cluster sample* or action research or observational method* or content analys* or thematic analys* or constant comparative method* or field stud* or theoretical sampl* or discourse analys* or focus group* or ethnological research or ethnomethodolog* or interview* or mixed method* or mixed model* or mixed design* or survey* or questionnaire* or anecdote*)) Dissertation/thesis was excluded as a source type.

Results = 359

Cochrane Library (via Wiley, including Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effect, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Methodology Register, Health Technology Assessment Database, and NHS Economic Evaluation Database)

#1 → MeSH descriptor: [Peer Group] explode all trees

#2 → MeSH descriptor: [Volunteers] explode all trees

#3 → MeSH descriptor: [Mentors] explode all trees

#4 → MeSH descriptor: [Patient Navigation] explode all trees

#5 → voluntary or peer or volunteer or mentor or navigator or lay:ti orab orkw (Word variations have been searched)

#6 → MeSH descriptor: [Advance Care Planning] explode all trees

#7 → MeSH descriptor: [Hospices] explode all trees

#8 → MeSH descriptor: [Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing] explode all trees

#9 → MeSH descriptor: [Palliative Medicine] explode all trees

#10 → MeSH descriptor: [Palliative Care] explode all trees

#11 → MeSH descriptor: [Terminal Care] explode all trees

#12 → “Living Will” or “Medical Power of Attorney” or “Health Care Power Attorney” or “Healthcare Power of Attorney” or “advance care planning” or “advance directive” or “advance health care plan” or “advance healthcare plan” or “advance medical plan” or hospice or palliative or “terminal care” or “end of life”:ti orab orkw (Word variations have been searched)

#13 → MeSH descriptor: [Patient Education as Topic] explode all trees

#14 → MeSH descriptor: [Counseling] explode all trees

#15 → MeSH descriptor: [Information Dissemination] explode all trees

#16 → MeSH descriptor: [Teaching] explode all trees

#17 → MeSH descriptor: [Consumer Health Information] explode all trees

#18 → discussion or coaching or navigation or navigating or learning or awareness or training or conversation or engagement or promotion or story or stories or experience or sharing or educator or education or educating or encouragement or teaching or counseling or information or knowledge or communication:ti orab orkw (Word variations have been searched)

#19 → MeSH descriptor: [Qualitative Research] explode all trees

#20 → MeSH descriptor: [Grounded Theory] explode all trees

#21 → MeSH descriptor: [Interviews as Topic] explode all trees

#22 → MeSH descriptor: [Focus Groups] explode all trees

#23 → MeSH descriptor: [Nursing Methodology Research] explode all trees

#24 → MeSH descriptor: [Anecdotes as Topic] explode all trees

#25 → MeSH descriptor: [Narration] explode all trees

#26 → MeSH descriptor: [Surveys and Questionnaires] explode all trees

#27 → MeSH descriptor: [Personal Narratives as Topic] explode all trees

#28 → MeSH descriptor: [Observational Studies as Topic] explode all trees

#29 → MeSH descriptor: [Interview] explode all trees

#30 → MeSH descriptor: [Personal Narratives] explode all trees

#31 → MeSH descriptor: [Observational Study] explode all trees

#32 → qualitative or ethnography or phenomenoly or “grounded theory” or “purposive sample” or hermeneutics or heuristics or semiotics or “lived experience” or narrative or “life experience” or “cluster sample” or “action research” or “observational method” or “content analysis” or “thematic analysis” or “constant comparative method” or “field study” or “theoretical sample” or “discourse analysis” or “focus group” or “ethnological research” or ethnomethodology or interview or “mixed method” or “mixed model” or “mixed design” or survey or questionnaire or anecdote:ti,ab,kw (Word variations have been searched)

#33 → (#1 or #2 or #3 or #4 or #5) and (#6 or #7 or #8 or #9 or #10 or #11 or #12) and (#13 or #14 or #15 or #16 or #17 or #18) and (#19 or #20 or #21 or #22 or #23 or #24 or #25 or #26 or #27 or #28 or #29 or #30 or #31 or #32)

Results = 37

Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED) via Ovid (1985 to March 2017)

(exp Peer group/ or exp. Voluntary workers/ or exp. Mentors/ or (voluntary or peer* or volunteer* or mentor* or navigator* or lay*).ab,ti.) AND (exp advance directives/ or exp. hospices/ or exp. palliative care/ or exp. terminal care/ or (Living Will* or Medical Power* Attorney or Health Care Power* Attorney or Healthcare Power* Attorney or advance* care plan* or advance* directive* or advance* health care plan* or advance* healthcare plan* or advance* medical plan* or hospice* or palliative or terminal care or end-of-life).ab,ti.) AND (exp patient education/ or exp. counseling/ or exp. teaching/ or (discussion* or coaching or navigation* or navigating or learning or awareness or training or conversation* or engag* or promotion* or story or stories or experienc* or sharing or educator* or education* or educating or encourag* or teaching or counseling or information or knowledge or communicat*).ab,ti.) and (exp interviews/ or exp. questionnaires/ or (qualitative or ethnograph* or phenomenol* or grounded theor* or purposive sampl* or hermeneutic* or heuristic* or semiotics or lived experience* or narrat* or life experience* or cluster sample* or action research or observational method* or content analys* or thematic analys* or constant comparative method* or field stud* or theoretical sampl* or discourse analys* or focus group* or ethnological research or ethnomethodolog* or interview* or mixed method* or mixed model* or mixed design* or survey* or questionnaire* or anecdote*).ab,ti.)

Results = 148