A Primary Palliative Care Intervention for Patients With Advanced Cancer (CONNECT)

April 6, 2021 updated by: Yael Schenker, MD, MAS, University of Pittsburgh

A Cluster Randomized Trial of a Primary Palliative Care Intervention (CONNECT) for Patients With Advanced Cancer

The overall goal of this study is to test whether a nurse-led intervention to improve provision of primary palliative care within oncology practices (CONNECT) can decrease morbidity for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers.

The specific aims are to:

Aim 1. Assess the effects of CONNECT on patient quality of life (primary outcome), symptom burden, and mood at 3-month follow-up.

Aim 2. Assess the effects of CONNECT on caregiver burden and mood at 3-month follow-up.

Aim 3. Assess the effects of CONNECT on healthcare resource use over 1 year of follow-up.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Study investigators will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial comparing the CONNECT intervention to usual care in 16 oncology clinics. CONNECT (Care Management by Oncology Nurses to address supportive care needs) is a care management intervention using existing oncology nurses to improve provision of primary palliative care within outpatient oncology practices.

The study will enroll 672 patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers. The study will assess the intervention's impact on patient and caregiver quality-of-life and psychological outcomes at three months and on healthcare utilization through one year of follow up. Investigators will follow a rigorous plan to establish and maintain intervention fidelity. Detailed process information will be collected at all sites and the study will evaluate how CONNECT impacts mortality and costs.

Following best practices for complex system-level interventions, the study will use a cluster randomized trial design. The unit of randomization is the oncology practice, defined as a unique location and provider group for outpatient oncology care. The unit of analysis is the individual patient and caregiver.

Designated staff at each clinic will review oncologists' schedules on a weekly basis to identify and track potentially eligible patients with an upcoming appointment. Research staff will review tracking systems weekly to maintain recruitment fidelity. Identified patients will receive a 1-page study information sheet at their next clinic visit, followed by a detailed in-person explanation of the study from a trained staff member. This staff member will obtain informed consent from all participants. To minimize potential selection bias, participants will be told in advance of both groups and not randomized if they decline to be exposed to one of them.

To enhance retention, blinded research assistants will conduct monthly follow-up calls to assess healthcare utilization for participants in both groups. The data collection strategy is designed to minimize participant burden by using parsimonious measures previously pilot-tested with this population.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

1290

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

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15232
        • UPMC Cancer Centers

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Participants will be (1) patients with advanced cancer receiving care at a participating clinic; (2) their caregivers; (3) their oncology staff nurses, oncologists, and practice managers.

Patient eligibility criteria. Inclusion criteria: (1) adults (≥ 21 years old); (2) the oncologist "would not be surprised if the patient died in the next year"; (3) Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) of ≤ 2; (4) planning to receive ongoing care from a participating oncologist and willing to be seen at least monthly.

Exclusion criteria: (1) Unable to read and respond to questions in English; (2) cognitive impairment or inability to consent to treatment, as determined by the patient's oncologist; (3) unable to complete baseline interview; (4) ECOG PS of 3 (capable of limited self-care; confined to bed or chair > 50% of waking hours) or 4 (cannot carry on any self-care; totally confined to bed or chair); (5) hematologic malignancy.

Caregiver eligibility criteria. Inclusion criteria: (1) adults (≥ 21 years old); (2) family member or friend of an eligible patient. Exclusion criteria: (1) unable to read and respond to questions in English; (2) unable to complete the baseline interview. Patients will be asked to select as caregiver the person who is most likely to accompany them to visits or help with their care should they need it.

Clinician eligibility criteria. Oncology staff nurses who undergo training to deploy CONNECT, oncologists, and practice managers at participating sites will be eligible 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: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: CONNECT Intervention
At clinics randomized to the CONNECT intervention, oncology nurses will be selected by a nurse advisory panel to receive standardized primary palliative care training. A multi-step deployment strategy will be employed to orient oncologists and implement CONNECT processes. CONNECT nurses will administer CONNECT to enrolled patients and caregivers. An intervention fidelity monitoring and maintenance plan will be implemented to ensure high quality and consistent delivery of the intervention.
Behavioral: CONNECT

Primary palliative care, care management intervention led by existing oncology nurses. Deployed through a series of nurse-led encounters before or after regularly scheduled oncology visits. Based on best practices in palliative oncology care, the first visit focuses on establishing rapport, addressing symptom needs and choosing a surrogate decision maker. Subsequent visits include additional focus on treatment preferences and future goals.

Visits are guided by patient-reported outcomes. During all encounters, the nurse works with patients/caregivers to complete/update individualized Shared Care Plans. After all visits, the nurse discusses patients' symptoms, preferences and goals with their oncologists via a mandatory check-in session and a follow-up call with the patient and/or caregiver.
No Intervention: Usual Care Control
At clinics randomized to Usual Care, enrolled patients and caregivers will continue to receive supportive oncology care according to usual practice.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of Life - patient
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3-month FACIT-Pal scores between enrolled patients at intervention clinics and enrolled patients at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Symptom burden - patient
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3-month Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) scores between enrolled patients at intervention clinics and enrolled patients at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Depression and anxiety symptoms - patient
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3-month Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores between enrolled patients at intervention clinics and enrolled patients at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Depression and anxiety symptoms - caregiver
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3-month Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores between enrolled caregivers at intervention clinics and enrolled caregivers at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Caregiver burden - caregiver
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3-month Zarit Burden Interview-Short scores between enrolled caregivers at intervention clinics and enrolled caregivers at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Healthcare Utilization
Time Frame: 1 year
To inform future dissemination efforts and aid in understanding optimal financing models, the investigators will calculate implementation costs of the intervention and determine the effects of CONNECT on healthcare utilization, including hospitalizations, chemotherapy use, and hospice use.
1 year
Survival - patients
Time Frame: 1 year
The investigators will calculate survival time from date of enrollment using the Kaplan-Meier method. We will use frailty models to assess for any effect of CONNECT on survival, controlling for the effects of clustering.
1 year

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient-Oncologist Therapeutic Relationship
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3-month Human Connection Scale scores between enrolled patients at intervention clinics and enrolled patients at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Hope - patients and caregivers
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3-month Herth Hope Index scores between enrolled patients and caregivers at intervention clinics and enrolled patients and caregivers at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Self-efficacy - patients and caregivers
Time Frame: 3 months
The investigators will compare 3-month scores on the Cancer Behavior Inventory-Brief (patients) and the Caregiver Inventory (caregivers) between enrolled patients and caregivers at intervention clinics and enrolled patients and caregivers at usual care clinics.
3 months
Satisfaction - caregivers
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3-month FAMCARE-2 scores between enrolled caregivers at intervention clinics and enrolled caregivers at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Distress - patients
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in the 3 months scores on the Distress Thermometer between enrolled patients at intervention clinics and enrolled patients at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Illness understanding, care preferences, advance care planning - patients
Time Frame: Change from baseline to 3 months
The investigators will compare change in patient illness understanding, care preferences, and advance care planning between enrolled patients at intervention clinics and enrolled patients at usual care clinics.
Change from baseline to 3 months
Burnout - clinicians
Time Frame: Baseline and annually up to 60 months
The investigators will compare burnout (maslach burnout inventory) between clinicians at intervention clinics and usual care clinics.
Baseline and annually up to 60 months
Satisfaction with CONNECT and recommendations for improvement
Time Frame: Annually up to 60 months
The investigators will assess satisfaction with CONNECT and recommendations for improvement among clinicians at intervention clinics annually.
Annually up to 60 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Collaborators

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Yael Schenker, MD, MAS, University of Pittsburgh

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)

July 27, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 27, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

October 15, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 7, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 14, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

March 18, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 8, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 6, 2021

Last Verified

April 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PRO15120154
  • 5R01CA197103-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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