Palliative Radiation Oncology Chief's Clinic (PROCC): Assessing the Impact of a Dedicated Clinic on the Timeliness of Palliative Radiotherapy
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Malignant Disease
- Sponsor
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences
- Enrollment
- 15
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Number of Days Between Referral and Start of Treatment
- Status
- Terminated
- Last Updated
- 2 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The proposed study represents a quality improvement study of a recently-developed dedicated radiation oncology subspecialty clinic with the goal of improving timeliness of palliative radiation therapy and improving resident training in palliative care topics. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of this clinic on time to palliative radiation therapy following referral.
Detailed Description
Primary Objective: • Determine whether interval between palliative radiation therapy referral and palliative radiation therapy initiation is shorter for participants treated in a dedicated palliative radiation oncology clinic compared to the same interval for participants treated in a general radiation oncology clinic (historical control). The investigators' hypothesis is that this interval will be significantly shorter among the Palliative Radiation Oncology Chief's Clinic participants compared to historical control. Secondary Objectives: * Determine whether each of the three component intervals within the overall interval from referral to treatment initiation (i.e., referral to consultation; consultation to simulation; simulation to treatment) is shorter for participants treated in a dedicated palliative radiation oncology clinic compared to the length of the same intervals for participants treated in a general radiation oncology clinic (historical control). The investigators' hypothesis is that each of these component intervals will be significantly shorter among the Palliative Radiation Oncology Chief's Clinic participants compared to historical control. * Describe levels of and changes over time in patient-reported quality of life after palliative radiation therapy in the full sample, and in subgroups stratified by various radiation regimens. The investigators' hypothesis is that participants who receive a shorter course of palliative radiation (one day or five days) will have greater improvements in overall quality of life than participants who receive a ten-day course of palliative radiation. * Determine median overall survival after palliative radiation therapy.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Age 18 years or older
- •Clinically or pathologically-defined malignant disease amenable to palliative radiotherapy.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Pregnancy. A verbal pregnancy denial will suffice.
- •No intention to treat with palliative radiation therapy following initial referral and consult.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Number of Days Between Referral and Start of Treatment
Time Frame: 3 months
Number of days between referral to palliative radiation therapy interval and start of palliative radiation therapy compared to historical control. Mean time from referral to the start of RT (measured in days) will be computed for our sample and compared to the historical control mean of 13.4 days using a two-sided one-sample t-test.
Secondary Outcomes
- Mean Time from Consultation to CT Simulation(3 months)
- Mean Time from CT Simulation to Palliative Radiation Start(3 months)
- Mean Time from Referral for Consultation(3 months)
- Quality of Life Changes(1 and 3 months after treatment completion)
- Overall Survival(6 months after treatment completion)