NCT01187056

Brief Summary

General practitioners (GPs) and patients find it difficult to talk about risk of future disease, especially when patients have asymptomatic conditions, and treatment options are unlikely to cause immediate perceptible improvements in well-being. Further studies in risk communication for disease prevention are needed, as are studies about risk communication training for GPs. Aim: 1) to systematically develop, describe and evaluate a complex intervention comprising a training programme for GPs in risk communication and shared decision-making, 2) to evaluate the effect of the training programme on real-life consultations between GPs and patients with high cholesterol levels, and 3) to evaluate patients' reactions during and after the consultations. Hypothesis: 1) patients have better adherence to chosen treatment. The effect of the complex intervention, based around a training programme, will be evaluated in a cluster-randomised controlled trial with an intervention group and an active control group with 40 GPs and 280 patients in each group. The GPs receive a questionnaire at baseline and after 6 months about their attitudes towards risk communication and cholesterol-reducing medication. After each consultation with a participating high cholesterol-patient, the GPs will complete a questionnaire about decision satisfaction. The patients will receive a questionnaire at baseline and after 3 and 6 months. It includes questions about adherence to chosen treatment, self-rated health, patient enablement, and risk communication and decision-making effectiveness. Prescriptions, contacts to the health services, and cholesterol level will be drawn from the register of the National Health Service of Denmark at baseline and at 6 months. In both intervention group and active control group, 12 consultations will be observed and tape-recorded. The consultations will be divided between 4 GPs with each 3 patients. The patients from these 24 consultations will be interviewed immediately after the consultation and re-interviewed after 6 months.Eight purposefully selected GPs from the intervention group will be interviewed in a focus group 6 months after participation in the training programme. The process and context of the RISAP-study will be investigated in detail using an action research approach, in order to describe and analyse research choices, adaptation of intervention model to the specific context, and GPs' and patients' reactions to trial participation.

Trial Health

100
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
179

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Nov 2007

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

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

November 1, 2007

Completed
2.8 years until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

August 20, 2010

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

August 23, 2010

Completed
1.9 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

July 1, 2012

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

July 1, 2012

Completed
Last Updated

May 9, 2017

Status Verified

October 1, 2012

Enrollment Period

4.7 years

First QC Date

August 20, 2010

Last Update Submit

May 8, 2017

Conditions

Keywords

Shared decision-makingRisk informationDecision aids

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • The primary patient outcome is adherence to treatment choice.

    2010-08-01 - 2011-04-01

Secondary Outcomes (7)

  • satisfaction with decision.

    2010-08-01 - 2011-04-01

  • self-rated health

    2010-08-01 - 2011-04-01

  • anxiety

    2010-08-01 - 2011-04-01

  • enablement

    2010-08-01 - 2011-04-01

  • satisfaction with communication,

    2010-08-01 - 2011-04-01

  • +2 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Training, decision making

EXPERIMENTAL

General practitioners receive training in shared decision-making and risk communication, and use their newly acquired skills in real-life consultations with 7 patients with high cholesterol.

Behavioral: Training programme

Training, usual practice

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The control group GPs will receive 2 hours of training in the primary care guideline for prevention of cardiovascular disease

Behavioral: Training programme

Interventions

2 x 2 hours of training (workshops)

Also known as: decision making, decision aids
Training, decision makingTraining, usual practice

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • \- GPs in Region Central and Region North, Denmark, are invited to the study.
  • Patients are at least 18 years old, and have high cholesterol corresponding to a recommendation for cholesterol-reducing medication according to Danish clinical guideline for general practice. The patients are recruited after their high cholesterol has been detected and when treatment options are to be discussed.

You may not qualify if:

  • \- Patients with CVD or DM are excluded from the study, as are patients already receiving cholesterol-reducing medication and patients unable to speak and read Danish.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Related Publications (3)

  • Kirkegaard P, Edwards A, Risor MB, Thomsen JL. Risk of cardiovascular disease? A qualitative study of risk interpretation among patients with high cholesterol. BMC Fam Pract. 2013 Sep 16;14:137. doi: 10.1186/1471-2296-14-137.

  • Kirkegaard P, Risor MB, Edwards A, Junge AG, Thomsen JL. Speaking of risk, managing uncertainty: decision-making about cholesterol-reducing treatment in general practice. Qual Prim Care. 2012;20(4):245-52.

  • Kirkegaard P, Edwards AG, Hansen B, Hansen MD, Jensen MS, Lauritzen T, Risoer MB, Thomsen JL. The RISAP-study: a complex intervention in risk communication and shared decision-making in general practice. BMC Fam Pract. 2010 Sep 22;11:70. doi: 10.1186/1471-2296-11-70.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

HypercholesterolemiaCardiovascular Diseases

Interventions

Decision Support Techniques

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

HyperlipidemiasDyslipidemiasLipid Metabolism DisordersMetabolic DiseasesNutritional and Metabolic Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Investigative Techniques

Study Officials

  • Janus L Thomsen, MD, PhD

    University of Aarhus

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

August 20, 2010

First Posted

August 23, 2010

Study Start

November 1, 2007

Primary Completion

July 1, 2012

Study Completion

July 1, 2012

Last Updated

May 9, 2017

Record last verified: 2012-10