Goals of Care Discussions for Hospitalized Patients With Advanced Cancer

Gender Differences in Inpatient Goals of Care Discussions in Patients With Advanced Cancer

The goal of this study is to better understand gender differences in end-of-life communication between physicians and patients with advanced cancer in the hospital.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Metastatic Cancer

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 43

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
      • Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients must be hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and be having a goals of care discussion with their physician. In addition, eligible patients must be greater than the age of 18 years, speak English fluently, be able to physically and cognitively complete the informed consent process, and have metastatic cancer that has progressed despite treatment.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• English speaking, have metastatic cancer that has progressed despite treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cognitive impairment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Quality of end-of-life communication	This is a qualitative study and the outcome will be assessed by coding the transcripts of the goals of care discussions. We will use the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) in which coders assign 1 of 37 mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories to each complete thought expressed (referred to as an utterance). Utterances are combined to reflect "instrumental" (e.g., biomedical exchange, psychosocial exchange, and partnership building) and "affective" behaviors (e.g., social conversation, positive and negative statements, and emotional statements). Additional global measures include patient-centeredness, verbal dominance, and tone.	15 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Northwestern University
• Collaborators: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Rashmi K Sharma, MD, MHS, Northwestern University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 21, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): November 25, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 9, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 6, 2015
• Last Verified: February 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Neoplasms; Neoplastic Processes; Neoplasm Metastasis
• Other Study ID Numbers: NU_STU00077507; K12HD055884 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)