Training Primary Care Physicians to Perform Melanoma Opportunistic Surveillance

June 5, 2018 updated by: June Robinson, Northwestern University
This is a four-phase educational intervention for primary care practitioners (PCPs) to perform opportunistic melanoma surveillance. Based on prior research, the investigator will develop an interactive melanoma early detection skills training program for PCPs according to the principals of mastery learning. The proposed educational intervention will improve practicing PCPs' knowledge, competence, confidence, and diagnostic performance regarding pigmented lesions and attitude concerning importance of skin surveillance. In addition, this research aims to examine the clinical proficiency of PCPs regarding pigmented lesions. The proposed educational intervention will reduce the percentage of benign lesions referred to dermatology.

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

Cutaneous melanoma is considered a potentially curable disease if detected early. Primary care physicians (PCPs) are well positioned to detect early melanomas by performing opportunistic melanoma surveillance on the at-risk population during physical examination. Opportunistic surveillance means physician performance of visual inspection of skin exposed during your physical examination focused on the presenting condition. Opportunistic surveillance requires skills in both visual inspection of the skin and with magnification of the skin by a hand-held device, a dermoscope. (This research aims to 1) develop an easily disseminated, interactive melanoma early detection skills training program for PCPs and to 2) to examine the clinical proficiency of PCPs regarding pigmented lesions.

The knowledge to be gained by PCPs is essential to the development and successful introduction of a method for physicians to learn how to perform opportunistic surveillance for melanoma. By evaluating means of encouraging and facilitating opportunistic surveillance for melanoma, an educational program may eventually be brought into widespread use in training PCPs.

In addition to a Pre-training Test and Post-training Test, each of the phases of the educational training program is described below:

  1. Knowledge Acquisition The Knowledge Acquisition phase will be delivered via personal computer/tablet. It will take about one hour to complete. The one-hour course consists of case histories and videos in which the following are presented: 1) threshold rules of visual inspection, 2) benefit of magnification with dermoscopy to assist with diagnosis, and 3) demonstration of the 3-point checklist of dermoscopy.
  2. Skills Assessment The Skills Assessment phase will be delivered via smartphone. The program may be intermittently accessed taking up to two weeks to complete. The PCP will be asked to review and make simulated management decisions on 20 case vignettes with clinical images of body surfaces and dermoscopy of individual lesions. Clinical practice will be simulated with the requirement that you make a decision to refer to dermatology or a decision that a referral is not needed. If a biopsy is performed in the case vignette, the pathology report will be provided, and the PCP will be asked the next step in the patient's care. Performance feedback will be provided.
  3. Deliberate Practice The Deliberate Practice phase will be delivered via smartphone. It will take between 1-8 weeks to complete. The PCP will be asked to review additional cases with visual inspection and dermoscopy to improve aspects of your performance that have demonstrated weakness. Individual strengths and weaknesses will be assessed, and personalized feedback will be provided. After achieving competency with the simulated cases, the research staff will provide the PCP with a DermScope device (a smartphone fitted with a dermoscope) to use in the next phase.
  4. Clinical Proficiency The Clinical Proficiency phase will take place in the clinical practice of the PCP over the course of 1-8 weeks. The PCP will be asked to use the DermScope to capture and transmit at least 12 lesions. Informed consent will be obtained from each patient prior to obtaining the non-identifying images. During image capture, each photograph is marked by the DermScope program with the date, time, and the clinical assessment form (CAF). The image will be transmitted to the teleconsultant (PI), who will assign a unique identification number to the image and the data. The PI will render an opinion within 72 hours regarding the need to refer the patient to dermatology or reassure the patient. The PCP will be asked to make a decision regarding the management of the patient and communicate this decision as needed to the patient.

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.
89

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 Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Dermatology
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
        • Northwestern Medicine: Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics

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

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria for PCPs:

  • is a practicing PCP in the section of General Internal Medicine of Northwestern Medicine

Exclusion Criteria for PCPs:

  • is NOT a practicing PCP in the section of General Internal Medicine of Northwestern Medicine

Inclusion Criteria for Patients providing lesions to be photographed:

  • is a patient of a PCP enrolled in the study
  • is at least 18 years old
  • able to read at a 6th grade level or higher

Exclusion Criteria for Patients providing lesions to be photographed:

  • is NOT a patient of a PCP enrolled in the study
  • under 18 years of age
  • unable to read at a 6th grade level

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: Screening
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel 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.
Active Comparator: Educational training program
PCPs randomized to the intervention group will receive the educational training program at the beginning of the study, extending over a maximum of five months.
Behavioral: Educational training program

The educational training program (intervention) consists of four sequential phases:

  1. Knowledge Acquisition
  2. Skills Assessment
  3. Deliberate Practice
  4. Clinical Proficiency
No Intervention: Control
PCPs randomized to the control group will have the option of receiving the educational training program at the end of the study.

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
Change from baseline performance at 5 months (difference-in-difference)
Time Frame: Baseline and 5 months

The difference-in-difference (DID) approach will be used to test the hypothesis that the educational intervention improved knowledge, attitude concerning importance of skin exam, competence, confidence, and diagnostic performance. The difference-in-difference estimator compares outcomes between pre-tests and post-tests between PCPs who received the educational intervention and those who did not.

Each PCP will be the unit of observation. We will choose an appropriate functional form for each outcome.For each outcome, a DID estimator that is significant at p < 0.05 will support the hypothesis that the educational intervention improved outcomes. This analysis will be repeated for each of the five outcomes. We will use the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.
Baseline and 5 months

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
Change in number of pigmented lesions referrals from three months prior and three months post randomization (Difference-in-Difference estimator)
Time Frame: Three months prior randomization, Three months post intervention
The difference-in-difference (DID) approach will be used to test the hypothesis that the intervention reduced referrals of benign lesions. The model will be estimated using a random effects logistic regression to account for clustering due to repeated measures for each PCP (about 8 referrals before randomization and another 8 after the intervention). A 95% confidence interval for the odds ratio of α3 that falls below one will support the hypothesis.
Three months prior randomization, Three months post intervention

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

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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.
September 15, 2015

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.
July 23, 2017

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.
July 23, 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 25, 2015

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.
March 5, 2015

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.
March 11, 2015

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.
June 7, 2018

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.
June 5, 2018

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, 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.
  • STU00082564

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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