The Effect of a Virtual Navigator on Colorectal Cancer Patient Empowerment

March 22, 2016 updated by: Carmen G. Loiselle, N., Ph.D., McGill University

A Web-Based Person-Centred Navigation Tool for Newly Diagnosed Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) to Assess Effects on Empowerment and Cost-Effectiveness (The TEN-C Study: Together to Enhance Navigation in Cancer)

For individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer, exposure to up-to-date cancer information and support as well as guidance to access the most appropriate health care services is crucial for cancer self-management and support. Timely access to high quality cancer information is suggested to contribute to patient empowerment - defined as the perception of being better able to manage illness demands. With the advent of the information age, individuals are increasingly turning to online health information resources. The use of rigorous web-based tools is found to be an engaging and convenient way to access health information, while being tailored to people's needs and preferences. The present study seeks to examine the effects of a recently developed high quality and person-centred web-based tool, the Oncology Interactive Navigator (OIN) on patients' empowerment as well as document its cost-effectiveness. Participants newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer will be randomly assigned to experimental or control groups with the former having unrestricted access to the OIN for 8 months. Participants in the control group will receive care as usual. Information on background, medical characteristics, and empowerment will be collected as well as cost-effectiveness indicators. If producing the desired effects, the OIN could be proposed for national implementation across Canadian cancer centers. Work is currently underway to add over 23 types of cancer diagnosis to the OIN.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

129

Phase

  • 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

  • Canada
    • Manitoba
      • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
        • CancerCare Manitoba
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
        • Sunnybrook-Odette Cancer Centre
    • Quebec
      • Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1A4
        • McGill University Health Centre
      • Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3T 1E2
        • Jewish 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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • histologically confirmed, first diagnosis of colorectal cancer (all stages)
  • within 20 weeks of when the individual was told s/he has colorectal cancer
  • fluent in English or French; able and willing to complete questionnaires
  • unrestricted home Internet access
  • has used the Internet at least once in the past
  • informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • previous history of CRC at any time, or any other cancer diagnosed within the last 5 years (exception: superficial skin cancer)
  • medical or severe health problem
  • terminal phase of colorectal cancer or too sick to participate

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 Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Routine Care
Participants who are randomized to the active comparator arm will receive routine care, which is the care routinely provided to the participant's patient population at the study centre.
Other: Routine Care
Experimental: Routine Care plus OIN
OIN (Oncology Interactive Navigator) is the intervention. Participants who are randomized to routine care plus OIN will receive routine care and have unlimited access to the website for the study duration.
Other: Oncology Interactive Navigator

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Empowerment
Time Frame: 8 months

The main outcome for this trial is empowerment which is multidimensional. Key dimensions of empowerment are measured using five constructs from the health education impact Questionnaire system (reference). Repeated measures using analysis of variance will be used to compare patterns of change in empowerment constructs across time between trial groups.

Reference:

Osborne RH et al. Patient Educ Couns. 2007;66:192-201.
8 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Cost-effectiveness
Time Frame: 8 months
8 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

McGill University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Carmen G. Loiselle, N., Ph.D., McGill 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

May 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 29, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 6, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

March 9, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 23, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 22, 2016

Last Verified

March 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • TEN-C
  • MOP 106710 (Other Grant/Funding Number: CIHR)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

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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