Communication Training for Caregivers In Advanced Care Planning

August 23, 2024 updated by: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Communication Training for Caregivers to Promote Advanced Care Planning

The purpose of this research study is to develop and test a new communication training to help caregivers communicate more effectively with their loved ones and healthcare professionals about advanced care planning.

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.

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.
Observational

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.
49

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
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

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

N/A

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

For Part 1 and 2 participants will be recruited from the MSK Brain Tumor Center (BTC), a multidisciplinary center comprised of faculty from Neurology, Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology, Radiology and Psychiatry. The study team may also conduct approaches and recruitment over the phone, in situations where clinic recruitment may not be possible. After screening medical records for eligibility, study staff will email the treating clinician for approach approval, and will only proceed to reach out over phone if the clinician provides explicit permission.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Part 1:

Informal caregivers:

  • Current self-reported informal cancer caregivers (IC) to a patient with a primary malignant brain tumor as per clinician judgment or as per EMR
  • English fluency: Self-report by participant identifying English as the preferred language for healthcare, and self-reported degree of fluency as speaking English "Very well."
  • age ≥ 18
  • has access to a computer or smartphone with a webcam and internet connection

Patients:

  • English-speaking as per EMR
  • Able to provide informed consent, a determination that will be made in assistance with the patient's medical team.

Part II:

Informal caregivers:

  • Current self-reported IC to an MSK patient with a (1) primary malignant brain tumor or (2) leptomeningeal metastasis of a solid tumor, as per clinician judgment or as per EMR.
  • English fluency: Self-report by identifying English as the preferred language for healthcare, and self-reported degree of fluency as speaking English "Very well."
  • Age >18 as per self report
  • Access to a computer or smartphone with a webcam and internet connection as per self report

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Enhanced Usual Care (EUC)
Other: Questionnaires
Will be filled out before and after the training so investigators can evaluate the skills learned and how they can be used them in advanced care planning. Questionnaires will be available in both paper form and electronic via REDCap.
Other: Enhanced usual care
Participant will complete a survey on distress and receive feedback about distress and given a resource packet with support information and targeted referrals based on needs. The participant will also receive a physical or electronic copy of a book entitled "Cancer Caregiving A to Z" published by the American Cancer Society. At the conclusion of their participation in the study, EUC participants will be given access to the pre-training video and Advanced Care Planning forms sent to Communication Training participants.
Communication Training
Other: Questionnaires
Will be filled out before and after the training so investigators can evaluate the skills learned and how they can be used them in advanced care planning. Questionnaires will be available in both paper form and electronic via REDCap.
Other: Communication training Part 1 (no longer recruiting)
1.5 hour Communication Training will be delivered through videoconferencing using the WebEx or Zoom platforms. The Training consists of a 30-minute lecture watched independently, and two modules (ACP Discussions with your Loved One and ACP Discussions with the Medical Team) completed as part of a virtual meeting. The lecture will be pre-recorded by Drs. Applebaum and Parker and will be sent via REDCap to ICs prior to the training to watch idependently. REDCap will log when ICs watch the lecture so that study staff know the participant has completed this aspect of the training. For the second part of the training ICs will participate in a virtual meeting for approximately 90 minutes of experiential role-play exercises where ICs will practice skills in simulated encounters with actors trained to play patients and HCPs.
Other: Communication training Part II
Part II The communication training developed in Part 1 will have two modules (ACP Discussions with your Loved One and ACP Discussions with the Medical Team) and consist of a 20-30 minute lecture and 90 minutes of experiential role-play exercises where ICs will practice skills in simulated encounters with actors trained to play patients and HCPs. Realistic scenarios were created and tailored according to ICs' reported concerns. After training, ICs will be coached through setting a SMART goal related to conducting ACP conversations, which emphasize Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound steps that motivate and direct behavior change. Two weeks post training, a booster phone call will be made to ICs to check progress toward their SMART goal, address barriers with problem-solving and review skills as indicated.

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
preliminary efficacy
Time Frame: 1 year
Feasibility criteria will be met if the target number of participants (n=10) complete a training session within the planned timeframe.
1 year

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.
Memorial Sloan Kettering 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: Allison Applebaum, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

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.

Helpful Links

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.
November 19, 2019

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.
August 22, 2024

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.
August 22, 2024

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).
November 19, 2019

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.
November 19, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

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.
November 21, 2019

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.
August 26, 2024

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.
August 23, 2024

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.
August 1, 2024

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.
  • 19-398

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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