Feasibility of an Individualized Goals of Care Discussion Guide for Advanced Breast Cancer

This research study is evaluating whether asking patients to fill out a brief survey about their goals and preferences for care and giving this survey to their clinician before the next visit helps improve communication and decision-making in breast cancer care.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Breast Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: IGCDG

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to understand patient preferences for communication and decision-making for advanced breast cancer. The investigators want to better understand what topics the participant wants their doctors and nurses to address with the participant in clinic, and the investigators want to evaluate whether asking patients to fill out a brief survey about their goals and preferences for care and giving this survey to their clinician before the next visit is a good idea that helps to improve communication and decision-making in breast cancer care.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Massachusetts General 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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥ 18
• Diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer within the past 3 years
• Receiving care at the MGH Cancer Center
• Verbal and written fluency in English
• Within 6 weeks of a new line of breast cancer therapy and/or progression on scans and/or a change in current breast cancer therapy regimen

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unwilling or unable to participate in the study
• Is medically or otherwise unable to participate (as determined by a physician or study PI)
• Enrolled in hospice

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Survey QOL; Study participants will be provided with the Individualized Goals of Care Discussion Guide (IGCDG) consisting of a brief pamphlet and the IGCDG questionnaire.; Participants will be asked to complete the IGCDG questionnaire prior to their next visit.; Participants will also complete an 8-week follow-up survey after the clinic visit to evaluate the impact on patient satisfaction with care, communication, and care received.

Other: IGCDG; The IGCDG reviews topics of concern for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Recruitment rate	The investigators will evaluate the primary hypothesis, that administration of the IGCDG in a breast oncology clinic is feasible, by evaluating the recruitment rate. Recruitment will be calculated as the number of patients who choose to participate divided by the number approached to enroll. A recruitment rate of greater than 50% will be deemed feasible. Each of the 3 distinct components of feasibility (recruitment rate, attrition rate, and change in distress) must be met for the administration of the Individualized Goals of Care Discussion Guide to be deemed feasible.	2 years
Attrition rate	The investigators will evaluate the primary hypothesis, that administration of the IGCDG in a breast oncology clinic is feasible, by evaluating the attrition rate. Attrition will be calculated as the number of participants who to do not complete the follow-up survey divided by the number enrolled. An attrition rate of less than 32% will be deemed feasible. Each of the 3 distinct components of feasibility (recruitment rate, attrition rate, and change in distress) must be met for the administration of the Individualized Goals of Care Discussion Guide to be deemed feasible.	2 years
Change in distress	The investigators will evaluate the primary hypothesis, that administration of the IGCDG in a breast oncology clinic is feasible, by evaluating the change in distress as measured by the NCCN distress thermometer between baseline administration and the 8-week follow-up survey. Lack of detection of a significant increase between baseline and follow-up distress scores among the participants will be interpreted as supporting feasibility. A significant increase in distress will be defined as >50% of participants having an increase in distress ≥3 between baseline and follow-up. Each of the 3 distinct components of feasibility (recruitment rate, attrition rate, and change in distress) must be met for the administration of the Individualized Goals of Care Discussion Guide to be deemed feasible.	8 weeks after the IGCDG was provided to participant's clinician

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Evaluate baseline preferences for care among patients with metastatic breast cancer via the Individualized Goals of Care Discussion Guide (IGCDG) questionnaire	The IGCDG questionnaire reviews topics of concern for patients with metastatic breast cancer, such as goals of cancer treatment and priorities for discussions with the patient's clinician. This is a descriptive, study specific measure.	baseline
The Satisfaction with Decision Making Scale	This is a six item validated scale designed to measure patient satisfaction with medical decision making. Participants rate their level of agreement on a 5-point scale with statements regarding medical decision-making. (1 = strongly agree; 5 = strongly disagree) . Lower scores indicate higher inclusion of the patient in decision-making.	8 weeks after the IGCDG was provided to participant's clinician
The Decisional Conflict Scale	This is a 16-item Likert scale with proven validity and reliability. Scores range from 1 to 5, with higher scores suggesting increased difficulty and conflict over decision making.	8 weeks after the IGCDG was provided to participant's clinician
Modified Control Preferences Scale	This 2 question scale is used to measure a participant's desired and actual participation in decision-making. As in prior work, the investigators have collapsed responses into 3 choices: decisions are made mainly by the patient, decisions are made equally, and decisions are made mainly by the clinician. Analysis is based on comparison of the participants reported desired role in decision making and actual role, with greater concordance indicating decision making that is aligned with the participants preferences.	8 weeks after the IGCDG was provided to participant's clinician
Patient Satisfaction with Cancer Care	The Patient Satisfaction with Cancer Care measure is a validated 18 item tool with responses on a 5 point Likert scale designed specifically to assess satisfaction among patients from diverse socio-demographic backgrounds. The investigators have modified the scale to remove 3 questions that were not relevant for this study population. Total score for this scale is calculated by adding all component scores, with lower scores indicating higher satisfaction with care.	8 weeks after the IGCDG was provided to participant's clinician

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Collaborators: Pfizer
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Peppercorn, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 22, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 29, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): April 29, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 6, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 12, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): December 18, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 14, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 13, 2023
• Last Verified: March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Breast Cancer
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Skin Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Breast Diseases; Breast Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 17-398

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No