Pilot Study of Repeated Decision Making in Surrogates
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 132
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Stroop Test Score
研究概览
简要总结
Decision making capacity fatigues after repeated decisions similar to skeletal muscle. The result is decision fatigue, in which subsequent decisions are altered toward the status quo. Surrogates are at risk for decision fatigue yet it has not been studied. We propose a randomized study in the outpatient setting in surrogates and patients at high risk for needing to make complex decisions, in an effort to determine the impact of decision fatigue on surrogate self-control and subsequent choices.
详细描述
Just as skeletal muscle fatigues after repeated use, decision-making capacity fatigues when repeated choices are made. This phenomenon, in which people experience diminished concentration and willpower after repeated decision-making, is termed decision fatigue. People experiencing decision fatigue are more likely to bias subsequent choices toward the status quo. By choosing the status quo, the decision-maker reserves the option to make an alternate choice at a later time, thereby preserving possibilities. Patients and their surrogates often make complex medical decisions for which they may have little experience. Although clearly at high risk, decision fatigue has not been studied in this population. To elucidate these questions, we propose a four-arm study of surrogates and patients in a population at high risk for making complex decisions. Surrogates will be randomly assigned to varied levels of decision making effort to assess for the development of resultant decision fatigue and whether it alters subsequent decisions.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 盲法
- Single (Participant)
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
- •Patients must have one of the following diagnoses: aplastic anemia, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia, stage IIIB or IV lung cancer, mesothelioma and/or stage IIIB or IV gastrointestinal cancer (pancreatic, biliary, esophageal, gastric, hepatocellular, colon), stage IV melanoma.
- •Patients must have at least one surrogate at their clinic visit who is willing to enroll with them as a pair to be included.
- •Surrogates are eligible if an eligible patient identifies them as as a surrogate and both consent for the study.
- •All participants must be over the age 18
- •All participants must be fluent in English
排除标准
- •Patients and surrogates will be excluded if they are illiterate or have a medical condition known to alter Stroop performance. These include individuals who are visually impaired such that they cannot read a computer screen, blind or colorblind, patients given sedating medications during their appointment and individuals with past medical history of cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack (TIA), seizure disorder, dementia or traumatic head injury with loss of consciousness.
- •Patients will be ineligible if they have either tracheostomy or are currently on hemodialysis as these would significantly alter responses to the mechanical ventilation hypothetical scenario and the hypothetical life sustaining therapy question.
- •Surrogates and patients are ineligible if their paired participant is excluded for any of the above reasons.
结局指标
主要结局
Stroop Test Score
时间窗: Approximately 15 minutes
Measurement of score will be done at the conclusion of instrument completion. The Stroop test is a standard measure of self control that requires three tasks. The last task is the most difficult where the participant must suppress the urge to read the word which is the easier task and instead say the color it is printed in. Standard scoring is the number correct in the Word trial minus the Color-Word trials. This data will be collected immediately following completion.
次要结局
- Evidence of status quo bias(Approximately 10 minutes)
研究者
Scott Halpern
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, Health Policy and Medical Ethics
University of Pennsylvania