Triggered Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Alzheimer Disease
- Sponsor
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Enrollment
- 62
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Hospital / Emergency Visits Per 60 Days (no. of Events/Follow-up Days)
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 7 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The objective of this study is to generate preliminary data for a large multi-site randomized clinical trial of a model of palliative care consultation for patients with advanced dementia, and for their family caregivers.
Detailed Description
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias affect 5 million Americans at an annual cost of $215 billion. Dementia is a contributing cause for 1 in 3 deaths, and is the only major cause of death with no effective prevention or treatment. Dementia-specific palliative care is needed to address the unique symptoms and treatment decisions relevant to this disease. Investigators therefore propose to develop and pilot test a model of palliative care consultation for advanced dementia patients, triggered by hospitalization for a serious acute illness. After systematic refinement of operational protocols and tools with stakeholders, they will enroll persons with advanced dementia plus an acute illness associated with high risk of death in the coming year. Patients will be enrolled with their family decision-makers (N=60 dyads) in a randomized feasibility trial. Intervention dyads will receive specialty palliative care consultation during hospital admission, plus post-discharge collaborative care by their outpatient primary care provider and a palliative care nurse practitioner. Control dyads will receive usual care. The research objective is to generate preliminary data for a large multi-site randomized controlled trial of a model of palliative care consultation for advanced dementia. Specific aims are: Aim 1: To develop a best-practice model of palliative care consultation for advanced dementia triggered by hospital admission for serious acute illness. Aim 2: To conduct a pilot randomized trial of triggered palliative care consultation for advanced dementia (versus usual care) to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting a larger randomized trial.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Diagnosis of dementia from Alzheimer's or other underlying cause
- •Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) Stage 5, 6 or 7
- •acute illness hospitalization
Exclusion Criteria
- •No English-speaking family decision-maker
- •Primary physician expects study to be too stressful for family caregiver
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Hospital / Emergency Visits Per 60 Days (no. of Events/Follow-up Days)
Time Frame: From time of hospital discharge up to 60 days
Includes emergency department visits and hospital admissions during measure interval
Secondary Outcomes
- Patient Comfort End of Life in Dementia (CAD-EOLD)(60 days)
- Number of Participants With Burdensome Treatments(From time of hospital discharge up to 60 days)
- Percent of Participants With Referral to Hospice or Outpatient Palliative Care From Discharge to 60 Days Follow-Up(From time of hospital discharge up to 60 days)
- Caregiver Strain(Interview at 60 days after hospitalization)
- Number of Palliative Care Domains in Treatment Plan(From time of hospital discharge up to 60 days)
- Percent of Participants With Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST)(From time of hospital discharge up to 60 days)