Primary Palliative Care - a Feasibility Cluster Trial
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 尚未招募
- 入组人数
- 30
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- GP Feasibility Rate (Implementation Rate)
研究概览
简要总结
This feasibility cluster-controlled randomized trial (RCT) evaluates a complex intervention for the delivery of primary palliative care in Family Health Units (FHUs). The intervention consists of training General Practitioners (GPs) in palliative care through a 30 hour e-learning program and implementing a structured consultation model (4 consultations over 12 weeks) for adult patients with advanced chronic illness. One FHU will receive the intervention and one FHU will follow usual care. The primary goal is to assess feasibility metrics (GP adherence, patient recruitment rate, and patient retention rate), which will inform the design of a subsequent full-scale cluster RCT.
详细描述
Background: Demographic ageing and the rising burden of chronic disease have dramatically increased the need for palliative care. Most patients with palliative care needs are cared for in primary health care (PHC) settings, yet GPs often lack training and systematic tools to identify and manage these patients. The Principal Investigator developed a complex intervention combining GP training and a new consultation model during doctoral research, demonstrating promising results (reduction in physical and psychological symptoms) in a before-after study (published in Palliative Medicine, DOI: 10.1177/02692163231219682). The present feasibility trial is the next methodological step before undertaking a full-scale cluster RCT.
Design: Feasibility cluster-controlled RCT with an embedded qualitative component (mixed-methods). Randomisation occurs at the cluster (FHU) level. Two FHUs from ULS Coimbra (central Portugal) will be recruited: one allocated to the intervention arm and one to the control (usual care) arm.
Intervention: GPs in the intervention FHU will complete a 30hour e-learning training programme covering palliative care communication, symptom management, and patient assessment/control. After training, each GP will apply the new structured consultation model to recruited patients over 12 weeks (4 consultations). The model is grounded in the 4th edition of the National Consensus Project's Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care and WONCA's core competencies for GPs in palliative care.
Control: GPs in the control FHU will follow usual care without any specific palliative care training or structured consultation model.
Participants: Adult patients (≥18 years) on the list of recruited GPs with a diagnosis of: advanced-stage neoplasm (metastatic cancer), COPD GOLD III/IV, Congestive Heart Failure NYHA III/IV, or Chronic Kidney Disease stage IV/V.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Other
- 盲法
- Single (Outcomes Assessor)
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- •Aged 18 years or older.
- •Enrolled as a patient on the list of a recruited General Practitioner in one of the participating Family Health Units.
- •Diagnosed with one or more of the following advanced chronic conditions:
- •Advanced-stage neoplasm (metastatic/stage IV cancer);
- •Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - GOLD classification III or IV;
- •Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) - New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification III or IV;
- •Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) - stage IV or V.
排除标准
- •Refusal to provide informed consent or to participate in the study at any point.
- •Disease severity requiring urgent medical intervention (acute crisis/emergency care need at time of recruitment).
研究组 & 干预措施
Control (Usual Care)
GPs in the control FHU deliver usual palliative care without specific training or structured consultation model.
结局指标
主要结局
GP Feasibility Rate (Implementation Rate)
时间窗: 12 weeks (from start of intervention to end of consultation cycle - Week 12 / T2)
Percentage of GPs in the intervention arm who successfully implement the new consultation model with their recruited patients (excluding failures due to reasons unrelated to the physician, e.g., patient death or withdrawal). Feasibility is considered demonstrated if ≥70% of GPs complete the model with at least 80% of their recruited patients.
次要结局
- Patient Recruitment Rate(Baseline (T0) - during recruitment period)
- Patient Retention Rate(Week 12 (T2))
- Perceived Barriers to Implementation(Week 12 (T2) - end of intervention)
- Perceived Benefits of the Intervention(Week 12 (T2) - end of intervention)
研究者
Carlos Seiça Cardoso
Principal Investigator
University of Coimbra