Patient Aid for Theory-Driven Health Communication (PATH): Translating Goal-Power Theory Into an Instrument and Generative AI Support for Palliative Care Communication

NCT07692711 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 202602057RINB
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 240
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether an artificial intelligence (AI)-supported communication tool can help improve communication between people receiving palliative care and their healthcare providers. The study will also evaluate a new questionnaire designed to measure the quality of healthcare communication. The main questions this study aims to answer are:

1. 1.Can the new questionnaire accurately measure the quality of communication between participants and healthcare providers?
2. 2.Does using the AI-supported communication tool, called NurseChat+, help participants feel more confident and prepared before meeting with their healthcare team?
3. 3.Does NurseChat+ improve the quality of communication during palliative care visits?

Conditions

Palliative Care; Natural Language Processing (NLP); Generative Artificial Intelligence

Keywords

Randomized Controlled Trial; Health Communication; Psychometrics; Theoretical Models; Mixed Methods Research

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change from Baseline in Communication Self-Efficacy via the 5-item Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interaction Scale (PEPPI-5)

  【Randomized Control Trial \& Pilot study】The PEPPI-5 is a 5-item self-report instrument used to measure a patient's perceived self-efficacy in communicating with their physician. Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident). The total score ranges from 5 to 25, with higher scores indicating higher levels of communication self-efficacy. Outcome will be assessed as the change in scores from T0 to T1.

  Baseline (T0: within 12 hours prior to the scheduled consultation) and Post-test (T1: immediately following the medical consultation or the interaction with GenAI communication aid).

• Quality of Health Communication via the Phase-One Developed Instrument

  Evaluated using a newly developed and validated communication-quality instrument generated in Phase One of the study. This instrument is designed to comprehensively assess the specific communication quality, patterns, and clinical encounter effectiveness between healthcare providers and palliative care patients/families when aided by GenAI communication aid. The instrument is currently undergoing development and psychometric validation. The finalized total score will be structured such that higher scores will mathematically indicate a superior quality of health communication and better communication patterns.

  Post-test follow-up (T1: 24-72 hours after the consultation via telephone interview).

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• System Usability Scale (SUS) Score of NurseChat+

  Post-test (immediately after the interaction with GenAI communication aid).

• Inventory of Technology Acceptance Model (ITAM) Score

  Post-test ( immediately after the interaction with GenAI communication aid)

• Evaluation of User Experience via the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ)

  Post-test (immediately after the interaction with GenAI communication aid)

• Improvement in Symptom Burden via the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS)

  Baseline (T0: within 12 hours prior to the scheduled consultation) and Post-test (T1: post-consultation follow-up within 24-72 hours).

• Patient Overall and Communication Satisfaction via the Chinese Patients' Satisfaction Scale (C-PSS)

  Post-test follow-up (T1: 24-72 hours after the consultation via telephone interview).

Study Arms (2)

NurseChat+ plus usual care

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the experimental group will be invited to interact with NurseChat+ on an iPad provided by the research team before beginning their medical consultation. Successful completion of the intervention is defined as either a minimum of ten minutes of NurseChat+ use or completion of a full round of patient input, data retrieval, and response generation

Behavioral: NurseChat+

Usual Care

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the control group will receive usual palliative care without access to the NurseChat+ intervention. Usual care includes standard clinical consultations and communication with healthcare providers as provided in routine practice.

Interventions

NurseChat+ BEHAVIORAL

Participants will use NurseChat+, a generative AI-supported communication tool, before scheduled palliative care visits to help prepare questions and concerns for discussion with healthcare providers. The intervention is provided in addition to usual care.

NurseChat+ plus usual care

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Age 18 years or older.
• Diagnosed with an advanced disease requiring consultation with outpatient palliative care clinics or home care services.
• Able to self-complete the study questionnaires.

You may not qualify if:

• None
• Group 2: Caregivers (Proxy-responding) (Invited only when the patient meets the clinical criteria but is unable to self-complete the questionnaires)
• Age 18 years or older.
• Identified as the primary family caregiver of a patient with an advanced disease requiring palliative care.
• Professional or paid caregivers.
• Unable to complete the study questionnaires.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Taiwan University Hospital: lead
• National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

National Taiwan University Hospital

Taipei, Taiwan

Location

Central Study Contacts

Chia-Chun Tang, PhD

CONTACT

886-905925300; chiatang@ntu.edu.tw

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 2, 2026
• First Posted: July 9, 2026
• Study Start: August 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2030
• Last Updated: July 14, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TW (1)