Initiating ACP in General Practice. A Phase II Study

NCT02775032 | Unknown Phase 2

• 1 other identifier: VZP_HA_2016
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: N/A
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

End-of-life care often fails in providing optimal patient-centred care and quality of life. Patients frequently suffer from inadequate control of pain, from a lack of communication about their illness and options for treatment, and from poor psychosocial and spiritual support. Advance care planning (ACP) can tackle these problems by providing patients with an opportunity to formulate their wishes and plan their future care, should they become incapable of participating in medical treatment decisions. Previous studies show that ACP improves concordance between patient's preferences and end-of-life care received and quality of care at the end-of-life. However, ACP is yet to be embedded in routine clinical practice and public consciousness. General practitioners (GPs) are in an ideal position to discuss ACP with their patients. By introducing ACP during a routine office visit, GPs can facilitate a structured discussion of the patient's wishes for end-of-life care. However, no ACP models have been systematically developed and tested in general practice. We developed a complex intervention to improve the initiation of ACP in general practice following the steps of an international guidance for development and evaluation of complex interventions. Before performing a full-scale intervention trial to study the effectiveness of this intervention on quality of care and quality of life, this model needs to be validated and tested in a pilot trial.

Conditions

Life-threatening Illness; Palliative

Keywords

advance care planning; general practice; family practice; palliative care; end-of-life care

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Quality of life questionnaire

  up to 1 month

Interventions

Advance care planning conversations between patients and their GP BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• patients with a serious or life-threatening illness
• older than 18 years
• Dutch speaking
• eligible according to the Surprise question
• able to give informed consent
• able to complete questionnaires and participate in qualitative interview

You may not qualify if:

• younger than 18 years
• incompetent to participate due to mental incapacity
• unable to give informed consent
• unable to complete questionnaires or participate in qualitative interviews

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Vrije Universiteit Brussel: lead

Related Publications (1)

• Dierickx S, Pardon K, Pype P, Stevens J, Vander Stichele R, Deliens L, De Vleminck A. 'Advance care planning, general practitioners and patients: a phase II cluster-randomised controlled trial in chronic life-limiting illness'. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2020 Dec 2:bmjspcare-2020-002712. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002712. Online ahead of print.

  PMID: 33268475 DERIVED

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 2
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Dr.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 13, 2016
• First Posted: May 17, 2016
• Study Start: October 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2017
• Study Completion: December 1, 2017
• Last Updated: May 17, 2016

Record last verified: 2016-05