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Primary Palliative Care - a Feasibility Cluster Trial (PrimPal)

31. juli 2026 oppdatert av: Carlos Seiça Cardoso, University of Coimbra
This feasibility cluster-controlled randomized trial (RCT) evaluates a complex intervention for the delivery of primary palliative care in Family Health Units (FHUs). The intervention consists of training General Practitioners (GPs) in palliative care through a 30 hour e-learning program and implementing a structured consultation model (4 consultations over 12 weeks) for adult patients with advanced chronic illness. One FHU will receive the intervention and one FHU will follow usual care. The primary goal is to assess feasibility metrics (GP adherence, patient recruitment rate, and patient retention rate), which will inform the design of a subsequent full-scale cluster RCT.

Studieoversikt

Status

Har ikke rekruttert ennå

Forhold

Intervensjon / Behandling

Detaljert beskrivelse

Background: Demographic ageing and the rising burden of chronic disease have dramatically increased the need for palliative care. Most patients with palliative care needs are cared for in primary health care (PHC) settings, yet GPs often lack training and systematic tools to identify and manage these patients. The Principal Investigator developed a complex intervention combining GP training and a new consultation model during doctoral research, demonstrating promising results (reduction in physical and psychological symptoms) in a before-after study (published in Palliative Medicine, DOI: 10.1177/02692163231219682). The present feasibility trial is the next methodological step before undertaking a full-scale cluster RCT.

Design: Feasibility cluster-controlled RCT with an embedded qualitative component (mixed-methods). Randomisation occurs at the cluster (FHU) level. Two FHUs from ULS Coimbra (central Portugal) will be recruited: one allocated to the intervention arm and one to the control (usual care) arm.

Intervention: GPs in the intervention FHU will complete a 30hour e-learning training programme covering palliative care communication, symptom management, and patient assessment/control. After training, each GP will apply the new structured consultation model to recruited patients over 12 weeks (4 consultations). The model is grounded in the 4th edition of the National Consensus Project's Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care and WONCA's core competencies for GPs in palliative care.

Control: GPs in the control FHU will follow usual care without any specific palliative care training or structured consultation model.

Participants: Adult patients (≥18 years) on the list of recruited GPs with a diagnosis of: advanced-stage neoplasm (metastatic cancer), COPD GOLD III/IV, Congestive Heart Failure NYHA III/IV, or Chronic Kidney Disease stage IV/V.

Feasibility outcomes: GP implementation rate (primary), patient recruitment rate, and patient retention rate will be assessed at baseline (T0), week 6 (T1), and week 12 (T2). Qualitative data will be collected through interviews with GPs and patients to explore perceived barriers and benefits of the intervention.

Significance: Results will be used to refine the intervention and study procedures, and to power a future definitive cluster RCT.

Studietype

Intervensjonell

Registrering (Antatt)

30

Fase

  • Ikke aktuelt

Kontakter og plasseringer

Denne delen inneholder kontaktinformasjon for de som utfører studien, og informasjon om hvor denne studien blir utført.

Studiekontakt

Studiesteder

  • Portugal
      • Coimbra, Portugal
        • Family Health Unit 1 - ULS Coimbra (Intervention)
      • Coimbra, Portugal
        • Family Health Unit 2 - ULS Coimbra (Control)

Deltakelseskriterier

Forskere ser etter personer som passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kalt kvalifikasjonskriterier. Noen eksempler på disse kriteriene er en persons generelle helsetilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Kvalifikasjonskriterier

Alder som er kvalifisert for studier

  • Voksen
  • Eldre voksen

Tar imot friske frivillige

Nei

Beskrivelse

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 18 years or older.
  • Enrolled as a patient on the list of a recruited General Practitioner in one of the participating Family Health Units.
  • Diagnosed with one or more of the following advanced chronic conditions:
  • Advanced-stage neoplasm (metastatic/stage IV cancer);
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - GOLD classification III or IV;
  • Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) - New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification III or IV;
  • Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) - stage IV or V.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Refusal to provide informed consent or to participate in the study at any point.
  • Disease severity requiring urgent medical intervention (acute crisis/emergency care need at time of recruitment).

Studieplan

Denne delen gir detaljer om studieplanen, inkludert hvordan studien er utformet og hva studien måler.

Hvordan er studiet utformet?

Designdetaljer

  • Primært formål: Annen
  • Tildeling: Randomisert
  • Intervensjonsmodell: Parallell tildeling
  • Masking: Enkelt

Våpen og intervensjoner

Deltakergruppe / Arm
Intervensjon / Behandling
Ingen inngripen: Control (Usual Care)
GPs in the control FHU deliver usual palliative care without specific training or structured consultation model.
Eksperimentell: Primary Palliative Care Consultation
General Practitioners in the intervention FHU complete a 30hour e-learning training programme in palliative care and apply a new structured consultation model over 12 weeks (4 consultations) with recruited patients.
Annen: Primary Palliative Care Complex Intervention (PrimPal)
  1. GPs will receive an e-learning palliative care training programme with a 30-h load, including topics such as the role of communication, the main problems and symptoms of patients with palliative care needs and how to assess and control them. Additionally, the programme covered how to apply the newly developed medical consultation model and how to use the Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS) patient version
  2. Primary palliative care consultation model divided into five areas (1) summarizing clinical information, (2) objective symptoms' management, (3) assessment and coding of chronic diseases and symptoms, (4) planning clinical approach and (5) addressing other problems/concerns - 4 consultations over 12 weeks.

Hva måler studien?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Tiltaksbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
GP Feasibility Rate (Implementation Rate)
Tidsramme: 12 weeks (from start of intervention to end of consultation cycle - Week 12 / T2)
Percentage of GPs in the intervention arm who successfully implement the new consultation model with their recruited patients (excluding failures due to reasons unrelated to the physician, e.g., patient death or withdrawal). Feasibility is considered demonstrated if ≥70% of GPs complete the model with at least 80% of their recruited patients.
12 weeks (from start of intervention to end of consultation cycle - Week 12 / T2)

Sekundære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Tiltaksbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Patient Recruitment Rate
Tidsramme: Baseline (T0) - during recruitment period
Percentage of contacted eligible patients who agree to participate in the study.
Baseline (T0) - during recruitment period
Patient Retention Rate
Tidsramme: Week 12 (T2)
Percentage of enrolled patients who complete all 4 consultations and remain in the study until week 12.
Week 12 (T2)
Perceived Barriers to Implementation
Tidsramme: Week 12 (T2) - end of intervention
Qualitative exploration of obstacles experienced by GPs and patients in the implementation of the intervention, assessed via semi-structured interviews
Week 12 (T2) - end of intervention
Perceived Benefits of the Intervention
Tidsramme: Week 12 (T2) - end of intervention
Qualitative exploration of the benefits perceived by GPs and patients from the intervention, assessed via semi-structured interviews.
Week 12 (T2) - end of intervention

Samarbeidspartnere og etterforskere

Det er her du vil finne personer og organisasjoner som er involvert i denne studien.

Sponsor

University of Coimbra

Samarbeidspartnere

Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra, EPE

Publikasjoner og nyttige lenker

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Generelle publikasjoner

Studierekorddatoer

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Studer hoveddatoer

Studiestart (Antatt)

1. oktober 2026

Primær fullføring (Antatt)

28. februar 2027

Studiet fullført (Antatt)

31. august 2027

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først innsendt

27. juli 2026

Først innsendt som oppfylte QC-kriteriene

27. juli 2026

Først lagt ut (Faktiske)

30. juli 2026

Oppdateringer av studieposter

Sist oppdatering lagt ut (Faktiske)

3. august 2026

Siste oppdatering sendt inn som oppfylte QC-kriteriene

31. juli 2026

Sist bekreftet

1. juli 2026

Mer informasjon

Begreper knyttet til denne studien

Nøkkelord

Ytterligere relevante MeSH-vilkår

Andre studie-ID-numre

  • IN1590 | PrimPal Trial
  • 2024.18252.PEX (Annet stipend/finansieringsnummer: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT))

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Nei

Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert enhetsprodukt

Nei

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