NCT00234286

Brief Summary

The BEACON trial (Best Practices for End-of-Life Care for Our Nations' Veterans) was a six-site implementation study to evaluate a multi-component, education-based intervention to improve the quality of end-of-life care provided in VA Medical Centers.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
78

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Aug 2005

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

August 1, 2005

Completed
2 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

October 4, 2005

Completed
2 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 6, 2005

Completed
5.4 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

March 1, 2011

Completed
2.5 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

September 1, 2013

Completed
1.7 years until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

April 27, 2015

Completed
Last Updated

April 27, 2015

Status Verified

April 1, 2015

Enrollment Period

5.6 years

First QC Date

October 4, 2005

Results QC Date

January 13, 2015

Last Update Submit

April 23, 2015

Conditions

Keywords

Palliative CareTerminal CareHospice CarePatient Care PlanningNursing Care PlansQuality of Health CareInpatientsProfessional educationResuscitation ordersPastoral Care

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Presence of Order for Opioid Pain Medication

    Presence of order for opioid pain medication at time of death based on abstraction of electronic medical record

    Pre and Post Intervention

Secondary Outcomes (15)

  • Do Not Resuscitate Order

    Pre and Post Intervention

  • Number of Patients Who Died in ICU

    Pre and Post Intervention

  • Individuals With a Nasogastric Tube

    Pre and Post Intervention

  • Individuals With an Intravenous Line

    Pre and Post Intervention

  • Number of Individuals Who Died in Restraints

    Pre and Post Intervention

  • +10 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (1)

Arm 1

EXPERIMENTAL

Comfort care education intervention, consisting of intensive, on-site staff training together with an electronic order set for palliative care and educational materials

Behavioral: Comfort care education intervention

Interventions

Comfort care education intervention, consisting of intensive, on-site staff training together with an electronic order set for palliative care and educational materials

Arm 1

Eligibility Criteria

Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Aim 1: Not applicable. Patients were deceased.
  • Aim 2: After-death interviews with next of kin: must be willing and able to participate in after-death interview at local VA Medical Center.

You may not qualify if:

  • N/A

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Birmingham VA Medical Center

Birmingham, Alabama, 35233, United States

Location

Related Publications (7)

  • Williams BR, Woodby LL, Bailey FA, Burgio KL. Identifying and responding to ethical and methodological issues in after-death interviews with next-of-kin. Death Stud. 2008;32(3):197-236. doi: 10.1080/07481180701881297.

    PMID: 18705168BACKGROUND
  • Woodby LL, Williams BR, Wittich AR, Burgio KL. Expanding the notion of researcher distress: the cumulative effects of coding. Qual Health Res. 2011 Jun;21(6):830-8. doi: 10.1177/1049732311402095. Epub 2011 Mar 10.

    PMID: 21393618BACKGROUND
  • Bailey FA, Williams BR, Goode PS, Woodby LL, Redden DT, Johnson TM 2nd, Taylor JW, Burgio KL. Opioid pain medication orders and administration in the last days of life. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2012 Nov;44(5):681-91. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.11.006. Epub 2012 Jul 4.

  • Bailey FA, Allen RS, Williams BR, Goode PS, Granstaff S, Redden DT, Burgio KL. Do-not-resuscitate orders in the last days of life. J Palliat Med. 2012 Jul;15(7):751-9. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2011.0321. Epub 2012 Apr 26.

  • Bickel KE, Kennedy R, Levy C, Burgio KL, Bailey FA. The Relationship of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder to End-of-life Care Received by Dying Veterans: a Secondary Data Analysis. J Gen Intern Med. 2020 Feb;35(2):505-513. doi: 10.1007/s11606-019-05538-x. Epub 2019 Dec 2.

  • Riggs JS, Woodby LL, Burgio KL, Bailey FA, Williams BR. "Don't get weak in your compassion": bereaved next of kin's suggestions for improving end-of-life care in Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014 Apr;62(4):642-8. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12764. Epub 2014 Mar 21.

  • Bailey FA, Williams BR, Woodby LL, Goode PS, Redden DT, Houston TK, Granstaff US, Johnson TM 2nd, Pennypacker LC, Haddock KS, Painter JM, Spencer JM, Hartney T, Burgio KL. Intervention to improve care at life's end in inpatient settings: the BEACON trial. J Gen Intern Med. 2014 Jun;29(6):836-43. doi: 10.1007/s11606-013-2724-6.

Related Links

MeSH Terms

Conditions

DeathPainDyspnea

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsNeurologic ManifestationsSigns and SymptomsRespiration DisordersRespiratory Tract DiseasesSigns and Symptoms, Respiratory

Results Point of Contact

Title
Kathryn L. Burgio, PhD
Organization
Birmingham VA Medical Center

Study Officials

  • Kathryn L Burgio, PhD MA BA

    Birmingham, Alabama VA Medical Center

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
Yes

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NA
Masking
NONE
Purpose
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Sponsor Type
FED
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

October 4, 2005

First Posted

October 6, 2005

Study Start

August 1, 2005

Primary Completion

March 1, 2011

Study Completion

September 1, 2013

Last Updated

April 27, 2015

Results First Posted

April 27, 2015

Record last verified: 2015-04

Locations