NCT06973707

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the possible benefits of mobile digital tools used by patients and families, with the help of a digital navigator, while patients are in the hospital. The goals are to better engage patients and their caregivers in their own care. The main questions it aims to answer are: Will use of these digital tools and digital navigators lead to greater patient activation during the hospitalization than usual care? Will use of passive and active tools lead to greater patient activation than the use of passive tools alone? Will use of these digital tools increase patient knowledge (of the care team and care plan) and patient self-efficacy, reduce patient anxiety, and improve patient experience and post-discharge behavior (filling discharge prescriptions and keeping follow-up appointment visits)? Will use of the digital tools decrease disparities in outcomes by language and area deprivation index? Participants will: Be asked to use the digital tools, assisted by a digital navigator, or usual care, including the hospital's patient portal. Complete surveys while in the hospital regarding baseline characteristics and study outcomes. If asked, give input into the design of tools and/or participate in interviews regarding their opinions of the digital tools and any barriers to implementation.

Trial Health

65
Monitor

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
520

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
18mo left

Started Jul 2028

Status
not yet recruiting

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

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

April 29, 2025

Completed
16 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 15, 2025

Completed
3.1 years until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

July 1, 2028

Expected
1.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

October 1, 2029

3 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

January 1, 2030

Last Updated

May 15, 2025

Status Verified

May 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

1.3 years

First QC Date

April 29, 2025

Last Update Submit

May 7, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

HospitalizationHealth information technologiesPatient EngagementPatient Activation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Improvement in patient activation

    Analytic variable: Patient Activation Measure (PAM)-13 day prior to discharge minus PAM-13 at enrollment. PAM-13 ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater patient activation (better outcome). Data source/method: survey

    Hospitalization (up to 30 days)

Secondary Outcomes (5)

  • Knowledge of care team

    Day prior to discharge

  • Knowledge of care plan

    Day prior to discharge

  • Self-efficacy for managing chronic conditions

    Day prior to discharge

  • Improvement in anxiety and depression

    Hospitalization (up to 30 days)

  • Patient experience

    Day prior to discharge

Other Outcomes (2)

  • Post-discharge medication adherence

    0-3 days after discharge

  • Keeping post-discharge appointments

    0-30 days after discharge

Study Arms (3)

Usual Care

NO INTERVENTION

Access to hospital's patient portal. Written materials regarding patient portal and structure of inpatient medical service. White board with plan of the day.

Passive Digital Tools Only

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Usual Care plus: Dynamic organizational chart of care team members. Electronic guide to general medicine service. Electronic Plan for the Day.

Behavioral: Passive Digital Tools

Passive Plus Active Digital Tools

EXPERIMENTAL

Usual Care plus Passive Tools plus: guide to why patient engagement is important. Sample medical questions with customized answers. Ability to create, organize, and store questions to ask the medical team. Electronic journal to keep track of symptoms, emotions, function, what patient learned.

Behavioral: Passive Digital ToolsBehavioral: Active Digital Tools

Interventions

Dynamic organizational chart of care team members Guide to general medicine service Plan for the day

Passive Digital Tools OnlyPassive Plus Active Digital Tools

Guide: why patient engagement is important Sample questions with answers Ability to create, organize, and store questions to ask the medical team; reminder to ask them during rounds Electronic journal function with categories: symptoms, emotions, function, what I learned; reminder to share with medical team during rounds

Passive Plus Active Digital Tools

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

  • Adult patients admitted to the general medicine service at Brigham and Women's Hospital during the 12-month trial enrollment period
  • English or Spanish speakers
  • Age 18 or older
  • Able to provide informed consent

You may not qualify if:

  • Residence in a nursing home, rehab facility, or group home
  • Undomiciled
  • Pregnant women, prisoners, or institutionalized individuals
  • Dementia
  • Likely to be discharged somewhere other than home in the opinion of the care team

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Patient Participation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Patient Acceptance of Health CareTreatment Adherence and ComplianceHealth BehaviorBehavior

Central Study Contacts

Jeffrey Schnipper, MD, MPH

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE CARE
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Model Details: Cluster-randomized controlled trial
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Research Director, Division of General Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

April 29, 2025

First Posted

May 15, 2025

Study Start (Estimated)

July 1, 2028

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2030

Last Updated

May 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

Patient-level demographic data (from the EHR and patient survey). Outcome data (e.g., quality, safety, patient experience, equity) from patient surveys.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
Time Frame
Study data will be made available as soon as possible and no later than one year after the end of the award period. Data will be available for 10 years.
Access Criteria
Data will be restricted using a controlled access repository. Requests for data will be reviewed by the Co-PIs per established policies and procedures; the investigators may establish data use restrictions (e.g., only for research studies); a data user's institution will need to complete a Data Use Agreement; data users may need to produce a data security plan.