The Chit-Chat Educational Intervention to Promote Advance Care Planning in the Community

Empowering Family Members of Older Adults with Multi-morbidity in Advance Care Planning Conversations: Development and Feasibility Testing of the Chit-Chat Educational Intervention

The purpose of this study is to estimate the effect size of the Chit-Chat intervention on ACP engagement among family members of older adults with multi-morbidity.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Old Age; Family Members
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Chit-Chat

Detailed Description

After being informed about the study and potential risks, all eligible participants will be asked to provide written informed consent for study entry. At week 0, participants will be randomized in an assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial in a 1:1 ratio to received the Chit-Chat intervention (two 2-hr weekly educational sessions) or wait-list control group.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• age 18 or above;
• a family member of a relative who aged 60 or above and lives with at least two severe chronic diseases such as cancer, dementia, lung, heart, liver, and renal disease.
• they perceived themselves will take part in taking care of their relatives in the near future;
• able to read and communicate in Cantonese.
• they are self-reported as cognitively intact

Exclusion Criteria:

• their relatives have been referred to palliative care service before the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Chit-Chat; The Chit-Chat intervention, covering five areas, including (1) Serious illness in older adults, (2) Realities of caring and dying from a carer's perspective, (3) Introduction to the importance of advance care planning for individuals and communities, (4) Effective communication between older adults, family members, and healthcare professionals in ACP conversations (i.e. listening to the wishes and preferences of older adults regarding their needs), and (5) audience participation and clarification including questions, answers and concerns.	Other: Chit-Chat; Participants will receive the 2 sessions of the Chit-Chat intervention on a weekly basis.
No Intervention: Waitlist Control; No intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
ACP engagement	The validated Chinese version of the ACP Engagement Survey - Surrogate Decision Maker consists of 17 items covering 4 dimensions: role cognition, contemplation, self-efficacy, and readiness. The questionnaire used a 5-point Likert scale to gather response. The total score can range between 17 and 85, with higher score indicating higher level of ACP engagement.	2 Weeks; 1-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Knowledge of ACP	The Knowledge Questionnaire consists of five items which address the purposes of ADs, EOL discussion, and issues related to ACP. The possible range of the total score is 0-5, with higher scores indicating better knowledge.	2 Weeks; 1-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Doris YP Leung, PhD, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 30, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 31, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): August 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 27, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 4, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 6, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 10, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 8, 2024
• Last Verified: February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Family members; Older Adults with multi-morbidity
• Other Study ID Numbers: ACP Community 2024

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data are not readily shared because permission to use the data by other researchers has to seek approval from the ethical committee. Request to access IPD should be directed to PI for further consideration and seeking approval from ethical committee.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No