Mixed Methods Study Web-based Life Support Decision Aid

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

120 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2014-06-01

Study Completion Date

2017-01-29

Brief Summary

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Patients and families want to be involved in healthcare decisions. When the decision-making process does not engage older patients and their families, the care provided does not match patient preferences or meet their needs. Healthcare teams can collaborate to support patients and families facing difficult healthcare decisions, such as decisions about the use of technology used to keep a person alive when they are critically ill. Tools called patient decision aids are used in many health care settings to help patients and families understand their options and figure out the benefits and harms of a treatment to decide what is right for them. The healthcare team can make sure that patients understand the information provided, give them opportunities to ask questions, and help them talk more about the decision with others. This research study is trialing a web based patient decision aid class of intervention. It is anticipated that 120 hospitalized, seriously ill, older adult patients/ families and their healthcare professionals will be recruited. The study will determine if the intervention can improve dialogue about whether life sustaining technology for seriously ill older patients. The findings will contribute to what is already known about overcoming challenges to involving patients and families with a goal of keeping patients and families at the centre of decisions about their health.

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Detailed Description

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A concurrent mixed method study of a life support decision aid (eLSDA) intends to prepare hospitalized, seriously ill older adult patients and their families to participate in shared decision-making. The study includes 1) randomized controlled trial and 2) a qualitative (naturalistic observation) study. The experimental study compares a convenience cohort of participants who receive usual care (n=60 patients or patient/surrogate pairs) to a cohort of participants who receive the intervention (n=60 patients or patient/surrogate pairs). The investigators intend to measure a) knowledge of life-sustaining technologies, b) clarity of values, c) congruence between documented physician's orders and patient choice, d) decisional conflict, and e) quality of communication. For the intervention group only, investigators will measure comprehensibility and acceptability of the eLSDA. The observational qualitative study derived from naturalistic observation will involve participant observation to examine dialogue about life support between hospitalized, seriously ill older adult patients, families and their healthcare professionals. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected to better understand the comprehensibility, acceptability, usability, feasibility and impact of the eLSDA used in routine clinical practice.

Questionnaires, patient/family/physician discussions and web based tool viewing will be completed in a hospital setting. The investigator will administer pre-intervention questionnaires to the participants, which will take approximately 15 minutes. Participants will then be randomized to groups, and be invited to use the web based eLSDA or usual care materials on a laptop computer or tablet (30 minutes). This will be followed by post-intervention questionnaires in a second interview (15 minutes). Physicians and nurses/social workers will be asked to complete a survey to examine the barriers to discussions about goals of care (15 minutes). The investigator will also fill out the chart abstraction tool after the participants give consent.

Conditions

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Clinical Decision-Making

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

This study includes 1) a randomized controlled trial and 2) an embedded observational qualitative study. The randomized control trial will compare a convenience cohort of participants who receive usual care (approximately n=60 patients or patient/surrogate pairs) to a cohort of participants who receive the intervention (approximately n=60 patients or patient/surrogate pairs).

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Caregivers

The doctor will not be told which intervention was used with the patient. The patient/family are told that they will have one of two ways to see the information about life support, but are blind to which is classified as the study intervention and standard care.

Study Groups

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Intervention

Patient/family are randomized to either the active intervention (web based life support patient decision aid - eLSDA and decision coaching) or usual care comparison.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Web based life support patient decision aid

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The web-based life support decision aid (eLSDA) was adapted from a print-based decision aid. The eLSDA includes information on the pros and cons of both life support and comfort care. The eLSDA lays out the decision about life support for an individual patient/family in a logical stepwise fashion to permit discussion, ask questions, and permit reflection on each step. At the end of the eLSDA, unmet decision-making needs are identified to seek support from the healthcare team.

Decision coaching

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

During the interactive process of using the eLSDA, the study nurse provides decision coaching for patient/family, specifically a facilitated values clarification exercise.

Usual Care Comparison

Patients may also randomized to review current web based resources provided by the health region for seriously ill patients.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Web based life support patient decision aid

The web-based life support decision aid (eLSDA) was adapted from a print-based decision aid. The eLSDA includes information on the pros and cons of both life support and comfort care. The eLSDA lays out the decision about life support for an individual patient/family in a logical stepwise fashion to permit discussion, ask questions, and permit reflection on each step. At the end of the eLSDA, unmet decision-making needs are identified to seek support from the healthcare team.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Decision coaching

During the interactive process of using the eLSDA, the study nurse provides decision coaching for patient/family, specifically a facilitated values clarification exercise.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

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eLSDA expert facilitation

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Potential users of eLSDA, which are those who are hospitalized, seriously ill, older patients, their families, and their health care providers.
* Age 55 + with one or more of the following diseases:

1. Chronic obstructive lung disease
2. Congestive heart failure
3. Cirrhosis
4. Cancer
5. End-stage dementia
6. Renal failure
* Any patient 70 + admitted to the hospital from the community because of an acute medical or surgical condition.
* Any patient 55 - 69 years of age admitted to the hospital, who has high likelihood of death in the next 6 months, in the opinion of the treating physician.