A Culturally Specific End-of-life Communication Skills Training

Effects of a Culturally Specific End-of-life Communication Skills Training for Chinese Oncology Nurses

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of culturally specific end-of-life communication skills training (CST) among Chinese oncology nurses.

The main question it aims to answer is: What is the effectiveness of culturally specific end-of-life CST among Chinese oncology nurses? Participants will receive an 8-week communication skills training. Researchers will compare the intervention group and the wait-list group to see if skills, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy beliefs will be improved.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: End-Of-Life
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: The end-of-life communication skills training; Other: Routine training activity

Detailed Description

Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of culturally specific end-of-life CST among Chinese oncology nurses.

Design and participants: It is designed as a single-blind, pre-post randomized controlled trial (RCT). Registered nurses who work with advanced cancer patients in hospital settings will be recruited. The participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (IG) or the control group (CG). The IG will receive the end-of-life CST between the two measurement points, and the CG will be a waitlist group and receive the training after the end of data collection.

Data analysis: Demographic information about the participants will be summarised in descriptive statistics. Independent t-tests and chi-square tests are used to investigate the comparability of groups in terms of the demographics generated by randomization. The primary and secondary outcome variables will be examined using covariate-adjusted linear mixed models. This approach enables the consideration of missing data. For non-repeated continuous measurements, ordinary linear regression and logistic models will be adopted. The intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis and post hoc analyses of contaminated data will be performed.

Expected results: Nurses' skills, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy beliefs will improve after the CST.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 148
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Joyce Chung, PhD; Phone Number: 852-2766-6322; Email: okjoyce.chung@polyu.edu.hk

Study Locations

• China
  • Zhejiang
    • Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, 310000
      • Recruiting
      • Zhejiang Cancer Hospital
      • Contact: Weilin Chen, Master; Phone Number: 86-15715792337; Email: wei-lin.chen@connect.polyu.hk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Registered nurses who work with advanced cancer patients in hospital settings
• Consent to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Nurses working temporarily in the two hospitals as scholars or trainees from other hospitals
• Specialized nurses in palliative care

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group (IG); The IG will receive the end-of-life CST between the two measurement points	Other: The end-of-life communication skills training; Training methods include lectures, video demonstrations, and simulation in small groups (4-5 trainees per group with multidisciplinary roles). Written and audiovisual learning materials will be offered. Each session will be 150 minutes, including lectures and video demonstration (90 min/session) and simulation and feedback (60 min/session). One session will be conducted in two weeks. Totally there will be four sessions completed in 8 weeks.
Other: Control group (CG); The CG will be a waitlist group and receive the training after the end of data collection.	Other: Routine training activity; Routine training activities arranged by relevant departments in hospitals

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from Baseline Skills at 3 months	Measured by Nurses' Clinic Communication Competency Scale, a 58-item self-reported scale which measures six dimensions. A 5-point Likert scale from (1) very poor to (5) very good is used. Higher scores mean a better outcome.	up to 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from Baseline Self-efficacy at 3 months	Measured by Hospice Care Self-efficacy Scale on nurses, a 12 items with a 5-point Likert scale from (1) very diffident to (5) very confident. Higher scores mean a better outcome.	up to 3 months
Change from Baseline Outcome expectancy beliefs 3 months	Measured by The Communication Outcomes Questionnaire, a 23-item self-report questionnaire with a 9-point Likert scale from 1 = very likely and 9 = very unlikely. Higher scores mean a worse outcome.	up to 3 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptance and satisfaction	Self-developed items and open questions anout the training experience	up to 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Joyce Chung, PhD, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 9, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 25, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): June 5, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): February 28, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2024
• Last Verified: February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Nurse; Communication; Terminally ill
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Death
• Other Study ID Numbers: HSEARS20230525002

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