VOICE: Values and Options in Cancer Care
- Conditions
- Cancer
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Communication training and coaching
- Registration Number
- NCT01485627
- Lead Sponsor
- University of Rochester
- Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to determine whether a combined intervention for patients, caregivers and oncologists improves communication, quality of life, and quality of care.
- Detailed Description
The purpose of this study is to (a) determine whether a combined intervention for patients, caregivers and physicians improves communication regarding treatment choices and prognosis in cancer, (b) to determine whether the intervention improves patient and caregiver well-being, quality of life and sense of peace, and (c) to determine whether the intervention affects health services utilization.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 485
Physicians
- Currently in clinical practice at participating institutions
- Oncologist that cares for patients with solid tumors
- Not planning to leave the practice during the next 6 months
Inclusion Criteria: Patients
- Currently a patient of an enrolled physician
- Age 21 years or older
- Diagnosis of advanced cancer
- Able to understand spoken English (study personnel will read materials to low literacy patients)
Inclusion Criteria: Caregivers
- Caregiver of a patient currently enrolled in the study
- Age 21 years or older
- Able to understand spoken English (study personnel will read materials to low literacy patients)
Physicians
- Non Physicians and physicians who are not oncologists
- Oncologists who exclusively care for patients with hematological malignancies
- Prior involvement in health-related coaching interventions
Exclusion Criteria: Patients
- Unable to complete orally-administered surveys in English
- Hospitalized or in hospice care at the time of recruitment
- Prior involvement in health-related coaching interventions
- Anticipating bone marrow transplantation or diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma
Exclusion Criteria: Caregiver
Unable to complete orally-administered surveys in English
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Intervention Communication training and coaching Oncologists will receive communication training. Patients will be coached to make the most of the oncologist visit.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Mean Patient-centered Communication in Advanced Cancer Score 3 years We audio recorded the first physician visit after the coaching session (for intervention) or after study entry (control).The primary outcome was a composite of 4 pre-specified communication measures: 1. engaging patients in consultations, responding to patients' emotions, informing patients about prognosis and treatment choices and balanced framing of decisions. Coding of the 4 measures was performed by teams of trained university students who were audited continuously and blinded to study hypotheses and group assignment. We transformed each of the 4 component scores to z scores based on the pre-randomization phase sample means (SDs): z = (Raw Score - Pre-randomization Phase Mean)/Pre-randomization Phase SD. The 4-component z-scores were averaged to form the primary outcome. A higher Z score indicates better communication. The maximum possible Z-score ranged from -0.69 to 20.08.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Caregiver Mean Prolonged Grief Symptoms as Measured by PG-13 7 months The prolonged grief (PG-13) instrument was used to measure prolonged grief. The tool is a sum of ten items that measure separation distress, duration of grief, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms and impairment criterion. The range of the score is 10-50 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.
Aim 2 Patient Well-being 3 years Original McGill quality of life and the FACT-G assessment tools were used. For the McGill tool scores range from 1 to 10 with higher scores indicating better outcome. For FACT-G scores range from 0 to 4. Higher score means a better outcome. Different parts of the McGill and FACT-G tools were used to create 5 standardized z scores: McGill QOL Scale single item, McGill Psychological Well-Being sub-scale, McGill Existential Well-Being sub-scale, FACT-G Physical Functioning sub-scale and FACT-G Social Functioning sub-scale. Sum of the five standardized z-scores is the Aggregate QOL score. A higher Z score indicates better outcomes. The maximum possible Z-score ranged from -3.54 to 1.24.
Aim 1b&c Mean Difference in Reported Expectation of Survival in 2 Years Between Patients and Physicians 3 years Patients and physicians were asked what the likelihood of survival in 2 years would be for the patient. They chose from 0, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, 100% chance of survival in two years. A value of 0-6 was assigned to each pair of data. 0 indicating no difference in the reported value between patient and physician and 6 indicating the largest difference. For example if the physician said 100% and the patient said 0% the score was 6. The mean scores were reported by arm.
Health Care Utilization- Mean Index Score of Aggressive Care at the End of Life 3 years Patient charts were audited for 3 outcomes : 1) chemotherapy use, 2) aggressive treatments and 3) emergency department or hospital utilization. The total scores ranged from 0-6 with higher scores indicated worse outcomes. The sums of the means for the 3 outcomes were added to provide the total score.
Caregiver Mean Overall Mental Health as Measured by the SF-12 Assessment 7 months SF-12 scores are computed using the scores of twelve questions and range from 0 to 100, where a zero score indicates the lowest level of health measured by the scales and 100 indicates the highest level of health.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
University of Rochester
🇺🇸Rochester, New York, United States