Ensuring Communication in Hospice by Oncology Study (ECHO)

April 15, 2017 updated by: Jennifer Temel, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital
The goal of this study is to determine if scheduled communication with the oncology team through phone calls is helpful to caregivers with the transition to hospice care.

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

There are four parts of the study. First, the participant will receive phone calls twice a week from the oncology team to check in with how the transition to hospice is going. Second, the participant may choose to have an appointment with the Massachusetts General Hospital oncology team to discuss any questions or concerns regarding cancer care or the transition to hospice. Third, each week of hospice care, the participant will be asked to complete a set of questionnaires at a time that is convenient for them either by phone or by email. These questions will ask the participant about their recent thoughts and feelings about their experience with hospice and as a caregiver. The questions will take less than 15 minutes to answer. Fourth, after hospice care has ended, the participant will be called by the oncology team to again check in and about a month later, the participant will also be contacted by phone to complete a set of questionnaires, again asking about their thoughts and feelings about your experience with hospice and as a caregiver.

For all of the questionnaires, the participant may skip any questions that the participant prefers not to answer. The responses will remain confidential and will be available only to study staff members who are trained in confidentiality and research ethics.

Additionally, during the research study, the investigators will obtain information from the participant's loved one's Massachusetts General Hospital electronic medical record that is relevant to the participation in the study for up to 6 months. If he/she has visited another hospital during this time, the investigator will also ask the participant for their permission to obtain the medical records from this visit.

The participant will not receive any compensation for this study.

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.
30

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
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Massachusetts General Hospital

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

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult Patient Criteria

    -->18years of age) with a diagnosis of an incurable malignancy of the head and neck, gynecological oncology, sarcoma, or melanoma

    • Receiving oncology care at the MGH Cancer Center
    • Referral to home hospice services in previous five business days.

  • Family Caregiver Eligibility Criteria:

    • Designated adult family/informal caregiver for an eligible patient who will provide the primary home care for the patient receiving hospice services
    • Ability to read and respond to questions in English or with the assistance of a translator
    • Access to telephone and/or computer to communicate with the oncology team and complete questionnaires
    • Willingness to complete weekly questionnaires via telephone or email.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patient Exclusion Criteria:

    -- Referral to hospice services away from home (eg in nursing home or in an inpatient or residential setting)

  • Family Caregiver Exclusion Criteria --Person is not the primary caregiver for the patient

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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.
Experimental: communication with oncology team
oncology team will be prompted to contact family caregiver and/or patient twice weekly while the patient is receiving hospice care.
Behavioral: communication with oncology team
Oncology team will contact patients and families via telephone at specific intervals

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
Evaluate the feasibility of implementing the Ensuring Communication in Hospice by Oncology Study (ECHO) intervention by patients' family caregivers and their oncology providers.
Time Frame: 2 Years
ECHO will be considered feasible if greater than 70% of participants have > 50% of the scheduled phone contact with the oncology team during hospice care, which will be documented in the patient's medical record. Feasibility will also be demonstrated if greater than 70% of the family caregivers completing the questionnaires do so greater than 50% of the time they were scheduled. Finally, feasibility will also be demonstrated if caregivers are able to be contacted and decide upon participation within 5 days of patient hospice enrollment.
2 Years

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
Time Frame
Prospectively explore the satisfaction with the overall experience of family caregivers through questionnaires when receiving the ECHO intervention.
Time Frame: 2 Years
2 Years
Prospectively explore rates of health service utilization in the patients receiving the ECHO intervention in terms of (1) hospice disenrollment; (2) hospitalization; and (3) emergency department visits
Time Frame: 2 Years
2 Years
Prospectively explore the levels of stress of family caregivers through questionnaires when receiving the ECHO intervention.
Time Frame: 2 years
2 years
Prospectively explore decision making regret of family caregivers through questionnaires when receiving the ECHO intervention.
Time Frame: 2 years
2 years

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.
Massachusetts General Hospital

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 (Actual)

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.
January 1, 2014

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, 2016

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.
January 1, 2017

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 18, 2014

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 20, 2014

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, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
April 18, 2017

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.
April 15, 2017

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.
April 1, 2017

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.
  • 13-540

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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