Improving Communication Between Cancer Patients & Oncologists

NCT02969031 | Completed Results DMC

• 1 other identifier: 16-099
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 148
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The overarching goal of this project is to improve communication between oncologists and their patients by ensuring that the patient's voice is heard in the medical encounter. Thus, the hope is to improve the experience for patients living with cancer. The investigators seek to accomplish this goal by providing oncologists communication skills training that includes feedback on their own audio-recorded conversations. The feedback will come from two sources: 1) Professional research assistant coders who will identify objective learning opportunities based on specific coding criteria and 2) Trained patient reviewers who will listen to the recordings and offer their own, subjective feedback at key moments in the encounters.

Conditions

Cancer

Keywords

communication

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Provider to Patient Communication Score

  The score measures the construct of patient's perception of attentive response by the medical oncologist during recalled office encounters over 12 months. Patients completed the Clinician Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG-CAHPS©) Version 1.0 questionnaire via computer or phone Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system.The Provider to Patient Communication Score:(1) Provider explained things in a way that was easy to understand (2) Provider listened carefully to patient (3) Provider showed respect for what patient had to say (4) Provider spent enough time with patient. Coded as 1 (Yes, definitely), 2 (Yes, somewhat), 3 (No), or 4 (I prefer not to answer).Obtained aggregate score ((1) to (3) above), calculated avg. of the scores to each question. Avgs. modeled with linear mixed-effect model. Analyzed data in both cases where a) missing responses are dropped from data and b) missing responses are kept in dataset. Lower score indicates more desirable outcome.

  6 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Empathic Response to Patient Expressions of Negative Emotions

  6 months

Study Arms (2)

Enhanced SCOPE training

EXPERIMENTAL

Complete a baseline questionnaire, administer satisfaction surveys anonymously to a sample of their patients, audio record (using a smartphone application) eight clinic visits with eight different patients. Receive survey feedback as well as the enhanced SCOPE program that provides feedback on their audio-recorded encounters via a web-based interactive program.

Behavioral: Enhanced SCOPE training

Standard Communication training

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Complete a baseline questionnaire, administer satisfaction surveys anonymously to a sample of their patients. Receive the results of the patient surveys and be asked to conduct a quality improvement activity of their own design that responds to the feedback (the current "standard" communication PIM).

Behavioral: Standard Communication training

Interventions

Enhanced SCOPE training BEHAVIORAL

Intervention is integrated into the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance Of Certification (MOC) process.

Enhanced SCOPE training

Standard Communication training BEHAVIORAL

Standard Communication training

Standard Communication training

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• All American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Board certified oncologists practicing in the U. S. and enrolled in Maintenance of Certification.
• Have a study-compatible smart phone.
• Eligible patients will have metastatic cancer.
• At least 18 years of age.
• Speak and read English.
• Receive oncology care from an enrolled oncologist.

You may not qualify if:

• Dana Farber Cancer Institute oncologists and oncologists who do not speak English to their patients.
• Patients who do not speak English.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: lead
• American Board of Internal Medicine: collaborator
• Duke University: collaborator
• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

Location

Related Links

• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Research Award Listing
• Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care (POPC) Listing of Current Research and PCORI Award
• Vital Talk is a non-profit whose mission is to nurture healthier connections between patients and clinicians. We are using Vital Talk intellectual property (e.g., REMAP) for the intervention

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neoplasms; Communication

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Julie Goldman
• Organization: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Julie_Goldman@dfci.harvard.edu

617-632-5563

Study Officials

• James A. Tulsky, MD

  Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Chair, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 16, 2016
• First Posted: November 21, 2016
• Study Start: February 14, 2017
• Primary Completion: August 31, 2018
• Study Completion: August 31, 2018
• Last Updated: January 3, 2020
• Results First Posted: January 3, 2020

Record last verified: 2019-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)