Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) Training
- Conditions
- Lung Cancer
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) trainingOther: Standard of Care participant interaction
- Registration Number
- NCT05456841
- Lead Sponsor
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Brief Summary
Research indicates that perceived stigma within medical encounters is prevalent and problematic for lung cancer patients' well-being and quality of cancer care. Promoting empathic communication appears to be a potentially effective intervention target to help reduce patients' perceptions of stigma within clinical encounters; however, no formal trainings exist that focus on teaching empathic communication to oncology care providers (OCPs). Building upon favorable findings from a prior R21 (R21CA202793) and the importance of developing interventions to address lung cancer stigma, our goal is to conduct a national trial of empathic communication skills (ECS) training to facilitate improvements in the medical and psychosocial care of patients through de-stigmatizing interactions with OCPs for patients diagnosed with lung cancer.
- Detailed Description
The aims of this study are:
1. to evaluate the effect of the ECS training on OCP primary outcomes (communication and empathic skill uptake) and secondary outcomes (ECS training appraisal - relevance, novelty, clarity; self-efficacy, empathy, compassion burn-out);
2. to evaluate the effect of the ECS training vs. WLC on patients' reported primary outcomes (lung cancer stigma), and secondary outcomes (perceived clinician empathy, satisfaction with communication, psychological distress, patients' experience of clinical encounter, and overall patient satisfaction).
Additionally, acceptance of referral to tobacco cessation (for those currently smoking) will be explored; and
3. to examine potential moderators of OCP (e.g., demographic characteristics, professional role characteristics) and patient outcomes (e.g., demographic characteristics, illness characteristics).
Our central hypothesis is that the ECS training will demonstrate significant short-term improvements in clinicians' uptake of empathic skills and self-efficacy and will be superior to WLC with regards to patient reported measures of stigma, clinician empathy, satisfaction, and overall experience.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 1232
Site Eligibility
- Employs at least 15 FTE OCPs (i.e., oncologists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) as per self report
- Reports a clinic volume of at least 20 new lung cancer patients per month as per self report
OCP Participant Eligibility
- OCPs who are thoracic oncology physicians (radiologists, medical oncologists, pulmonologists, and surgeons), NPs, or PAs and currently treating lung cancer patients, as per self-report;
- OCP conducts consultations with lung cancer patients, as per self-report;
- OCP sees at least 1 lung cancer patient per week, as per self-report;
Patient Eligibility
-
Patient under the care of a participating OCP as per self report;
-
English and/or Spanish speaking;
- In general, which language do you prefer to receive your medical care, English/Spanish/both English and Spanish Equally?
- If English, treat as fluent in English, no additional language questions
- If Spanish, treat as fluent in Spanish, no additional language questions
- If both English and Spanish equally, ask the follow-up questions and go with whichever language is endorsed as best. If endorsed equally, assign to category patient prefers
- How well do you speak English? Not at all/ Not well/Well/Very well
- How well do you speak Spanish? Not at all/Not well/Well/Very well
-
Is at least 18 years of age as per self report;
-
Has a history of suspicious lung mass or confirmed lung cancer diagnosis, as per clinician judgment or medical record note;
-
Is a former or current smoking as per self report;
-
Has had no more than 10 prior visits with the participating OCP, as per the medical record and/or self report
Patient Exclusion
- Individuals of impaired decision-making capacity as per a clinician's judgment or as documented in the EMR.
Site and OCP Exclusion
- None
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Participants with Lung Cancer-intervention group Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) training Participants will engage with oncology care providers/OCP who have undergone Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) training Participants with Lung Cancer-control group Standard of Care participant interaction Waitlist control group - WLC Oncology Care Providers/OCP-intervention group Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) training Providers participate in Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) training Oncology Care Providers/OCP-control group Standard of Care participant interaction Providers complete all study measures and are offered ECS training after data collection is completed at their site.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Uptake of communication skills using standardized patient assessment/SPAs 3 months A SPA involves a 12-minute video recorded interaction between the Oncology Care Provider/OCP and the Standardized Patient/SP on a given clinical scenario, using standardized scripts by the SP. Each OCP will participate in one SPA prior to their ECS training and one SPA following training or the timed control period. In contrast to clinical consultation recordings with varied clinical situations that do not necessitate the use of all strategies and skills, the semi-structured nature of SPAs permits appraisal of all desired elements of training.
Uptake of empathy skills using standardized patient assessment/SPAs 3 months A SPA involves a 12-minute video recorded interaction between the Oncology Care Provider/OCP and the Standardized Patient/SP on a given clinical scenario, using standardized scripts by the SP. Each OCP will participate in one SPA prior to their ECS training and one SPA following training or the timed control period. In contrast to clinical consultation recordings with varied clinical situations that do not necessitate the use of all strategies and skills, the semi-structured nature of SPAs permits appraisal of all desired elements of training.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method
Trial Locations
- Locations (9)
University of Pennsylvania (Data Collection Only)
🇺🇸Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Providence St. Joseph Health (Data Collection Only)
🇺🇸Irvine, California, United States
Advocate Health Care Network
🇺🇸Libertyville, Illinois, United States
University of Kentucky (Data Collection Only)
🇺🇸Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Munson Healthcare (Data Collection Only)
🇺🇸Traverse City, Michigan, United States
Hackensack Meridian Health (Data collection only)
🇺🇸Hackensack, New Jersey, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (All Protocol Activities)
🇺🇸New York, New York, United States
Virtua Health (Data Collection Only)
🇺🇸Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare (Data Collection Only)
🇺🇸Chesapeake, Virginia, United States