Trial Outcomes & Findings for Improving Palliative Care Through Teamwork (NCT NCT01990742)

NCT ID: NCT01990742

Last Updated: 2018-09-17

Results Overview

This outcome measure, Hospital Site of Death, assesses whether death occured in a nursing home or in a hospital following transfer from the nursing home, among nursing home residents who were cared for in an enrolled facility.

Recruitment status

COMPLETED

Study phase

NA

Target enrollment

31 participants

Primary outcome timeframe

1 year

Results posted on

2018-09-17

Participant Flow

Nursing Homes, not individual participants, were enrolled in this RCT study, and were the unit of intervention. However, the outcomes analysis was performed on decedents who were cared for in the enrolled Nursing Homes.

Unit of analysis: Nursing Homes

Participant milestones

Participant milestones
Measure
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam)
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam): Palliative care teams will be established and will work with residents in the intervention nursing homes.
Standard Care
Usual care will be provided to residents in the control homes.
Overall Study
STARTED
3259 16
4331 15
Overall Study
COMPLETED
2852 14
2978 11
Overall Study
NOT COMPLETED
407 2
1353 4

Reasons for withdrawal

Reasons for withdrawal
Measure
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam)
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam): Palliative care teams will be established and will work with residents in the intervention nursing homes.
Standard Care
Usual care will be provided to residents in the control homes.
Overall Study
Withdrawal by facility
407
1083
Overall Study
Facility closed
0
270

Baseline Characteristics

Improving Palliative Care Through Teamwork

Baseline characteristics by cohort

Baseline characteristics by cohort
Measure
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam)
n=2852 Participants
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam): Palliative care teams will be established and will work with residents in the intervention nursing homes.
Standard Care
n=2978 Participants
Usual care will be provided to residents in the control homes.
Total
n=5830 Participants
Total of all reporting groups
Age, Continuous
86.0 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.9 • n=5 Participants
86.2 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 9.0 • n=7 Participants
86.1 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 9.0 • n=5 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
1813 Participants
n=5 Participants
1930 Participants
n=7 Participants
3743 Participants
n=5 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
1039 Participants
n=5 Participants
1048 Participants
n=7 Participants
2087 Participants
n=5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
1 Participants
n=5 Participants
18 Participants
n=7 Participants
19 Participants
n=5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
2851 Participants
n=5 Participants
2960 Participants
n=7 Participants
5811 Participants
n=5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
n=5 Participants
0 Participants
n=7 Participants
0 Participants
n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
22 Participants
n=5 Participants
22 Participants
n=7 Participants
44 Participants
n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
11 Participants
n=5 Participants
11 Participants
n=7 Participants
22 Participants
n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
n=5 Participants
0 Participants
n=7 Participants
0 Participants
n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
108 Participants
n=5 Participants
153 Participants
n=7 Participants
261 Participants
n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
2711 Participants
n=5 Participants
2792 Participants
n=7 Participants
5503 Participants
n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
n=5 Participants
0 Participants
n=7 Participants
0 Participants
n=5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
n=5 Participants
0 Participants
n=7 Participants
0 Participants
n=5 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
2852 participants
n=5 Participants
2978 participants
n=7 Participants
5830 participants
n=5 Participants

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: 1 year

Population: Nursing home residents cared for in an assigned facility, who died during the study timeframe

This outcome measure, Hospital Site of Death, assesses whether death occured in a nursing home or in a hospital following transfer from the nursing home, among nursing home residents who were cared for in an enrolled facility.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam)
n=2852 Participants
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam): Palliative care teams will be established and will work with residents in the intervention nursing homes.
Standard Care
n=2978 Participants
Usual care will be provided to residents in the control homes.
Hospital Site of Death: Number of Decedents Cared for in an Enrolled and Assigned NH Facility, Who Were Transferred to a Hospital and Died in the Hospital During the Study Period
579 Participants
441 Participants

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: The last 90 days of life

Population: Decedents with data on hospitalizations in the last 90 days of life

Number of hospitalizations in the last 90 days of life among decedents being cared for in the enrolled nursing homes

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam)
n=1907 Participants
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam): Palliative care teams will be established and will work with residents in the intervention nursing homes.
Standard Care
n=1930 Participants
Usual care will be provided to residents in the control homes.
Hospitalizations
0.34 Mean number of hospitalizations
Standard Deviation 0.69
0.29 Mean number of hospitalizations
Standard Deviation 0.62

OTHER_PRE_SPECIFIED outcome

Timeframe: up to 6 months prior to death

Population: Decedents cared for in assigned nursing home facilities for whom data on pain was available

Presence of moderate-to-severe pain within 6 months of the date of death, among decedents cared for in the enrolled nursing homes. The verbal descriptor pain scale, where the resident is asked to rate the intensity of their worst pain in the last five day was most often used, where 0 = no pain, 1 = mild pain , 2 = moderate pain, 3 = severe pain, 4 = very severe pain, and 9 = unable to answer. Lower numbers (0 or 1 ) on the scale are preferred, and a lower percentage of residents reporting pain intensity in the moderate or higher ranges is a better outcome. The verbal descriptor scale can be shared with elders verbally, as the name implies, or by asking the resident to point to a setting on a visual thermometer with these word choices.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam)
n=1844 Participants
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam): Palliative care teams will be established and will work with residents in the intervention nursing homes.
Standard Care
n=1851 Participants
Usual care will be provided to residents in the control homes.
Number of Nursing Home Residents in Moderate-to-severe Pain
235 Participants
218 Participants

Adverse Events

Palliative Care Team (PCTeam)

Serious events: 2852 serious events
Other events: 0 other events
Deaths: 2852 deaths

Standard Care

Serious events: 2978 serious events
Other events: 0 other events
Deaths: 2978 deaths

Serious adverse events

Serious adverse events
Measure
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam)
n=2852 participants at risk
Palliative Care Team (PCTeam): Palliative care teams will be established and will work with residents in the intervention nursing homes.
Standard Care
n=2978 participants at risk
Usual care will be provided to residents in the control homes.
General disorders
Death from causes not associated with the study
100.0%
2852/2852 • Number of events 2852 • 1 year
We only collected and used data on decedents in our enrolled nursing homes, therefore ALL individual level outcomes measures are based on residents who died during the study period. However, the intervention was not at the individual level, but rather a facility-level. The study was not directly associated with, or a cause of, any of these deaths. Rather, we aimed to teach nursing home staff in the intervention facilities how to improve the quality of care for residents who were dying.
100.0%
2978/2978 • Number of events 2978 • 1 year
We only collected and used data on decedents in our enrolled nursing homes, therefore ALL individual level outcomes measures are based on residents who died during the study period. However, the intervention was not at the individual level, but rather a facility-level. The study was not directly associated with, or a cause of, any of these deaths. Rather, we aimed to teach nursing home staff in the intervention facilities how to improve the quality of care for residents who were dying.

Other adverse events

Adverse event data not reported

Additional Information

Dr. Helena Temkin-Greener

University of Rochester

Phone: 585-275-8713

Results disclosure agreements

  • Principal investigator is a sponsor employee
  • Publication restrictions are in place