Quality of Life Therapy for Adults With ESRD Awaiting Renal Transplantation

January 5, 2012 updated by: James Rodrigue, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
The purpose of this study is to determine whether psychological intervention is effective in improving quality of life, mood, and relationships among adults with end-stage renal disease who are awaiting kidney transplantation.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Despite known quality of life (QOL) deficits associated with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), there have been very few attempts to develop strategies to improve QOL in adults with ESRD awaiting renal transplantation. The long-term goal of this research program is to better understand how QOL can be enhanced, to identify the mechanisms underlying QOL changes, to identify which patients benefit most from QOL intervention, and to determine whether QOL benefits can extend beyond transplantation. The objective of this research is to determine the effectiveness, feasibility and applicability of Quality of Life Therapy (QOLT) in treating adults with ESRD awaiting renal transplantation. In a recent small, single-center clinical trial, we demonstrated that QOLT can improve QOL, psychological functioning, and social intimacy in patients awaiting lung transplantation. We now seek to examine whether this intervention can be effectively adapted and implemented with adults with ESRD who are awaiting renal transplantation. The central hypothesis is that by targeting improvements in specific life domains, QOLT yields significant clinical benefits in QOL, psychological functioning, and the patient-caregiver relationship. This hypothesis is being tested by pursuing three specific aims: 1) Determine the effectiveness of QOLT; 2) Examine the differential effectiveness of QOLT by race (White, African American); and 3) Assess the feasibility of a multisite R01 application. Under the first aim, adults with ESRD awaiting renal transplantation are being randomized to receive QOLT, Supportive Therapy (ST), or Standard Care (SC). Primary outcomes are changes in QOL, psychological functioning, and social intimacy at 1 and 12 weeks post-treatment. Under the second aim, the relationship between race and intervention outcomes will be closely examined. Under the third aim, attrition rates, reasons for attrition, therapist adherence to treatment protocols, and participant satisfaction ratings are being gathered to assess the need for protocol changes prior to developing a larger, multisite clinical trial R01 application. This study is innovative because it is among the first to evaluate a theoretically-driven psychological intervention to specifically improve QOL in the context of ESRD and renal transplantation. The research is significant because it is expected to advance and expand understanding of how QOL can be improved in patients with ESRD.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

65

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3

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

    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • The Transplant Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical 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

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male or female patients between 21 and 70 years of age
  • Diagnosis of ESRD
  • Wait-listed for deceased donor renal transplantation (primary transplant only)
  • White or African American race
  • Signed informed consent
  • Primary caregiver identified as spouse or domestic partner
  • Resides within 60 minutes of transplant center

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior recipient of renal transplantation
  • Prior recipient of other solid organ transplantation
  • Wait-listed for combined kidney-pancreas transplantation
  • Current substance abuse or dependency
  • Currently hospitalized
  • Current recipient of psychological intervention services
  • Mental retardation
  • Substantial cognitive impairment (score of 23 or less on the Mini-Mental State Examination)
  • Communication difficulties (speech, hearing) so substantial that they would prevent patient from participating actively in one of the interventions (determined by transplant social worker)

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

  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Standard Care
Experimental: QOLT
Quality of Life Therapy (QOLT) 8 weekly individual counseling sessions
8 weekly individual counseling sessions
Active Comparator: ST
Supportive Therapy (ST) 8 weekly individual counseling sessions
8 weekly individual counseling sessions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Primary: Scores on the following measures at 12 weeks post-intervention: Quality of Life Inventory, SF-36, KDQoL, CDC Activity Limitations Module, Hopkins Symptom Checklist, POMS, and Miller Social Intimacy Scale
Time Frame: 12 weeks
12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: James R. Rodrigue, PhD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

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

January 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 25, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 25, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

January 29, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 6, 2012

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 5, 2012

Last Verified

January 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R21 DK77322 (completed)
  • R21DK077322 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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