Patient Perceptions of the Relational Empathy of Healthcare Practitioners From the Department of Emergency Medicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: COVID-19 Infection; Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm; Malignant Solid Neoplasm
• Interventions: Procedure: Discussion; Other: Best Practice; Other: Questionnaire Administration

• Registration Number: NCT05102656
• Lead Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Brief Summary

This study investigates patients' perceptions of their doctor's or nurse's empathy during an in-person interaction with the doctor or nurse wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) compared to during a video interaction with the doctor or nurse without PPE. The goal of this research study is to learn whether patients who visit the Acute Cancer Care Center at MD Anderson believe they get better (more empathetic) care from doctors who visit them in person wearing PPE or from doctors who visit them by video call and do not wear PPE.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine whether patients perceive their healthcare practitioner as more empathetic during an in-person interaction with the practitioner wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), or during a video interaction without the need for PPE.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess whether certain physicians perform better with video whereas others perform better in person.

II. To characterize generational differences in patient perception of healthcare practitioner empathy during an in person interaction with the practitioner wearing PPE, or during a video interaction without the need for PPE.

OUTLINE: After initial visit, patients are randomized to 1 of 2 groups.

GROUP A (NO PPE): Patients receive standard of care via video call with treating physician.

GROUP B (WEARING PPE): Patients receive standard of care in-person physician visits.

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design
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Trial Locations

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2021-06-02
• Study First Submitted: 2021-10-29
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-10-29
• Study First Posted: 2021-11-01
• Status Verified: 2024-10
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-10-15
• Last Update Posted: 2024-10-16
• Primary Completion: 2027-02-02
• Study Completion: 2027-02-02

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 107

Inclusion Criteria

• >= 18 years old
• Able to speak and write in English
• Able to understand and willing to sign a written informed consent document
• Willing and able to complete the study assessment(s)

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Exclusion Criteria

• Refuses to participate
• Too ill to participate, in the estimation of the patient's physician

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Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Group B (in-person)	Questionnaire Administration	Patients receive standard of care in-person physician visits.
Group A (video call)	Questionnaire Administration	Patients receive standard of care via video call with treating physician.
Group A (video call)	Discussion	Patients receive standard of care via video call with treating physician.
Group B (in-person)	Best Practice	Patients receive standard of care in-person physician visits.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Patients' perceptions of healthcare provider empathy	Through study completion, an average of 1 year	Univariate linear regression analysis will be used to determine the association between the approach (in-person interaction/with personal protective equipment \[PPE\] versus video interaction/without PPE) and the composite scores or scores for each question (for each of the two tools \[the CARE Measure and the linear empathy tool\]).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

M D Anderson Cancer Center; 🇺🇸 Houston, Texas, United States