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A Culturally Specific End-of-life Communication Skills Training

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
End-Of-Life
Interventions
Other: The end-of-life communication skills training
Other: Routine training activity
Registration Number
NCT05888480
Lead Sponsor
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of culturally specific end-of-life communication skills training (CST) among Chinese oncology nurses.

The main question it aims to answer is: What is the effectiveness of culturally specific end-of-life CST among Chinese oncology nurses? Participants will receive an 8-week communication skills training. Researchers will compare the intervention group and the wait-list group to see if skills, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy beliefs will be improved.

Detailed Description

Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of culturally specific end-of-life CST among Chinese oncology nurses.

Design and participants: It is designed as a single-blind, pre-post randomized controlled trial (RCT). Registered nurses who work with advanced cancer patients in hospital settings will be recruited. The participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (IG) or the control group (CG). The IG will receive the end-of-life CST between the two measurement points, and the CG will be a waitlist group and receive the training after the end of data collection.

Data analysis: Demographic information about the participants will be summarised in descriptive statistics. Independent t-tests and chi-square tests are used to investigate the comparability of groups in terms of the demographics generated by randomization. The primary and secondary outcome variables will be examined using covariate-adjusted linear mixed models. This approach enables the consideration of missing data. For non-repeated continuous measurements, ordinary linear regression and logistic models will be adopted. The intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis and post hoc analyses of contaminated data will be performed.

Expected results: Nurses' skills, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy beliefs will improve after the CST.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
148
Inclusion Criteria
  • Registered nurses who work with advanced cancer patients in hospital settings
  • Consent to participate in the study
Exclusion Criteria
  • Nurses working temporarily in the two hospitals as scholars or trainees from other hospitals
  • Specialized nurses in palliative care

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SEQUENTIAL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Intervention group (IG)The end-of-life communication skills trainingThe IG will receive the end-of-life CST between the two measurement points
Control group (CG)Routine training activityThe CG will be a waitlist group and receive the training after the end of data collection.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from Baseline Skills at 3 monthsup to 3 months

Measured by Nurses' Clinic Communication Competency Scale, a 58-item self-reported scale which measures six dimensions. A 5-point Likert scale from (1) very poor to (5) very good is used. Higher scores mean a better outcome.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from Baseline Self-efficacy at 3 monthsup to 3 months

Measured by Hospice Care Self-efficacy Scale on nurses, a 12 items with a 5-point Likert scale from (1) very diffident to (5) very confident. Higher scores mean a better outcome.

Change from Baseline Outcome expectancy beliefs 3 monthsup to 3 months

Measured by The Communication Outcomes Questionnaire, a 23-item self-report questionnaire with a 9-point Likert scale from 1 = very likely and 9 = very unlikely. Higher scores mean a worse outcome.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Zhejiang Cancer Hospital

🇨🇳

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

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