Dignity Therapy in mCRC to Increase Peaceful Awareness & Impact Goals of Care Decision-Making

September 13, 2013 updated by: Northwestern University

Use of Dignity Therapy in Stage IV Colorectal Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy to Increase Peaceful Awareness and Impact Goals of Care Decision-Making

The purpose of this study is to try and improve the way that patients with colon cancer understand and cope with their illness and give them tools for talking with their loved ones and family about their illness.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Dignity Therapy is a well tolerated structured interview that helps patients reflect on who they are, what is most important to them and what lessons they have learned through life. For patients not receiving chemotherapy, Dignity Therapy gave patients more hope, more meaning in their life, and helped their families. Researchers at Northwestern University would like to see if it has the same effect in patients getting chemotherapy. We will also see if the Dignity Therapy changes patient's understanding of their disease and their medical preferences.

All study procedures will take place when participants come for a scheduled doctor's visit or to receive chemotherapy. At the first visit participants will answer a questionnaire taking approximately 15-30 minutes. Participants will then have a Dignity Therapy Session approximately 1-2 weeks later. A second Dignity Therapy Session will be scheduled again in another 1-2 weeks. Each study Dignity Therapy Session will take approximately an hour. One to two weeks later a repeat questionnaire will be filled out. Finally, a third and final questionnaire will be complete 4 weeks later.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
24

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
        • Northwestern University, Northwestern Memorial Faculty Foundation

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

  • Participants must be currently receiving treatment for stage IV colorectal cancer.
  • Participants must have experience disease progression after their first course of treatment and are being considered for second course of treatment or have already started their second course of treatment.
  • Participants must be 18 years old or older.
  • All participants must have given signed, informed consent prior to registration on study.
  • Participants must speak English.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: NONE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
OTHER: Immediate Dignity Therapy
At registration, subjects will be mailed a questionnaire. The subject will then receive two separate dignity therapy sessions, about a week apart. Subjects will then be asked to complete a questionnaire 1-2 weeks after completing therapy sessions and one month after completing therapy sessions.
Behavioral: Dignity Therapy
Dignity therapy is a psychotherapeutic intervention developed to address psychosocial and existential distress among terminally ill patients. Basically, it invites patients to discuss topics that matter most or how they want to be remembered. This interview is recorded and then edited and returned to the patient to be used for further reflection or for sharing with loved ones.
OTHER: Wait List Dignity Therapy
At registration, subjects will be mailed a questionnaire. The subject will then receive two separate dignity therapy sessions; the first session will take place about 6 weeks after registration, with the second session occurring 1-3 weeks after the first. Subjects will then be asked to complete a questionnaire about one month after completing therapy sessions.
Behavioral: Dignity Therapy
Dignity therapy is a psychotherapeutic intervention developed to address psychosocial and existential distress among terminally ill patients. Basically, it invites patients to discuss topics that matter most or how they want to be remembered. This interview is recorded and then edited and returned to the patient to be used for further reflection or for sharing with loved ones.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Impact of Dignity Therapy
Time Frame: at baseline, 1-2 weeks after completion of dignity therapy sessions, 1 month after completion of sessions
Measure the impact of dignity therapy on terminal illness acknowledgment and presence of peaceful awareness. Subjects will complete self-evaluation questionnaires at the point of registration and upon completing dignity therapy sessions. The impact will be determined by changes in the patient's baseline self-reported parameters.
at baseline, 1-2 weeks after completion of dignity therapy sessions, 1 month after completion of sessions

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Measure the impact of dignity therapy on life sustaining therapy and end-of-life goals of care.
Time Frame: at baseline, 1-2 weeks after completion of dignity therapy sessions, 1 month after completion of dignity therapy sessions
Subjects will complete self-evaluation questionnaires at the point of registration and upon completing dignity therapy sessions. The impact will be determined by changes in the patient's baseline self-reported parameters.
at baseline, 1-2 weeks after completion of dignity therapy sessions, 1 month after completion of dignity therapy sessions
Establish a correlation between terminal illness acknowledgement and presence of peaceful awareness with preferences for life sustaining therapy and end-of-life goals of care.
Time Frame: At Study Completion
Establish a correlation between terminal illness acknowledgement and presence of peaceful awareness with preferences for life sustaining therapy and end-of-life goals of care.
At Study Completion

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Northwestern University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Linda Emanuel, MD, PhD, Northwestern University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2010

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2012

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 22, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 23, 2010

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 24, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 16, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 13, 2013

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NU 09CC3
  • STU00022908 (OTHER: Northwestern University IRB)
  • NCI-2010-01851 (OTHER: NCI CTRP#)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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