Patients' and Radiographers' Experiences and Views of Comfort Management in Radiotherapy

NCT ID: NCT03984435

Last Updated: 2019-06-13

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

UNKNOWN

Total Enrollment

50 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-02-08

Study Completion Date

2019-12-31

Brief Summary

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A qualitative study exploring patient experiences of comfort during radiotherapy and radiographers' views of managing patient comfort during the delivery of radiotherapy

Detailed Description

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Patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment for cancer frequently express their feelings of discomfort during the procedure, especially those who require radiotherapy with extended treatment times. This problem was explored by informal questioning of patients who revealed that this is a problem and causes distress and discomfort but that it was being accepted as being part of the treatment. In healthcare, several interventions have been used to improve the comfort of patients. In radiotherapy, there have been examples where positioning or relaxation has improved the patient's comfort. Literature searches have revealed some comfort interventions that can be used during radiotherapy treatment which may be possible interventions.

With the consent of the patient, it is intended to establish the patients' experience and views of comfort and comfort management during radiotherapy. Radiographers' experiences and views of managing patient comfort during radiotherapy will also be explored. It will also be essential to explore what would be the most ideal solution to comfort management, or how comfort could be improved, from the perspective of both patients and radiographers.

Conditions

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Cancer

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

CASE_ONLY

Study Time Perspective

RETROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

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Patients

Patients with a diagnosed malignancy who have been referred for radiotherapy with extended treatment time (\>10 minutes)

No interventions assigned to this group

Radiographers

Radiographers from radiotherapy departments in the UK who deliver radiotherapy

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

Patients:

1. diagnosed with a malignancy;
2. aged over 18 years owing to different treatment options for children and young adults;
3. recently referred for radiotherapy, currently receiving treatment or had had radiotherapy within the previous 3 months;
4. treatment delivery time exceeding 10 minutes (the time the patient is immobilised on the radiotherapy couch).

Therapeutic radiographers:

1. practicing Therapeutic radiographers;
2. administering radiotherapy with treatment delivery times exceeding 10 minutes per radiotherapy treatment session (the time the patient is immobilised on the radiotherapy couch).

Exclusion Criteria

Patients:

1. patients with treatment delivery time below 10 minutes;
2. unable to communicate in English.

Therapeutic Radiographers:

1. student Therapeutic radiographers,
2. no more than two radiographers from the same radiotherapy department.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of the West of England

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Simon D Goldsworthy, MSc

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Research Radiographer

Locations

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Musgrove Park Hospital

Taunton, Somerset, United Kingdom

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United Kingdom

Central Contacts

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Simon D Goldsworthy, MSc

Role: CONTACT

01823 344250

Susan J Mahoney, BSc

Role: CONTACT

01823 343369

Facility Contacts

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Simon D Goldsworthy, MSc

Role: primary

01823 344250

Susan J Mahoney

Role: backup

01823 343369

References

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Schnur JB, Ouellette SC, Bovbjerg DH, Montgomery GH. Breast cancer patients' experience of external-beam radiotherapy. Qual Health Res. 2009 May;19(5):668-76. doi: 10.1177/1049732309334097.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19380502 (View on PubMed)

Arcangeli S, Scorsetti M, Alongi F. Will SBRT replace conventional radiotherapy in patients with low-intermediate risk prostate cancer? A review. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2012 Oct;84(1):101-8. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2011.11.009. Epub 2012 Jan 17.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22257653 (View on PubMed)

Gestaut MM, Thawani N, Kim S, Gutti VR, Jhavar S, Deb N, Morrow A, Ward RA, Huang JH, Patel M. Single fraction spine stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy with volumetric modulated arc therapy. J Neurooncol. 2017 May;133(1):165-172. doi: 10.1007/s11060-017-2428-6. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28409420 (View on PubMed)

Chang JH, Gandhidasan S, Finnigan R, Whalley D, Nair R, Herschtal A, Eade T, Kneebone A, Ruben J, Foote M, Siva S. Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy for the Treatment of Spinal Oligometastases. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2017 Jul;29(7):e119-e125. doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2017.02.004. Epub 2017 Feb 23.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28237218 (View on PubMed)

Dawson LA, Balter JM. Interventions to reduce organ motion effects in radiation delivery. Semin Radiat Oncol. 2004 Jan;14(1):76-80. doi: 10.1053/j.semradonc.2003.10.010.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14752735 (View on PubMed)

Cheng. F, Wang.W. Factors influencing comfort level in head and neck neoplasm patients receiving radiotherapy. Int J Nur Scie. 2014; 1 (4): 394-399

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Cox.J. Davison.A. Comfort as a determiner of treatment position in radiotherapy of the male pelvis. Radiog. 2005; 11 (2): 109-115

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Goldsworthy.SD, Tuke.K, Latour.J.M. A focus group consultation round exploring patient experiences of comfort during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer; Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice; 2016; 15 (2)143-149

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Pineau,C. The psychological meaning of comfort. International Review of Applied Psychology. 1982. Vol 31, 271-283

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Kolcaba K, Steiner R. Empirical evidence for the nature of holistic comfort. J Holist Nurs. 2000 Mar;18(1):46-62. doi: 10.1177/089801010001800106.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11847691 (View on PubMed)

Kolcaba K, Tilton C, Drouin C. Comfort Theory: a unifying framework to enhance the practice environment. J Nurs Adm. 2006 Nov;36(11):538-44. doi: 10.1097/00005110-200611000-00010.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17099440 (View on PubMed)

Braun V. Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology; 2006 July 3: 77-101

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Carter N, Bryant-Lukosius D, DiCenso A, Blythe J, Neville AJ. The use of triangulation in qualitative research. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2014 Sep;41(5):545-7. doi: 10.1188/14.ONF.545-547.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25158659 (View on PubMed)

Goldsworthy S, Latour JM, Palmer S, McNair HA, Cramp M. A thematic exploration of patient and radiation therapist solutions to improve comfort during radiotherapy: A qualitative study. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 2023 Dec;54(4):603-610. doi: 10.1016/j.jmir.2023.07.008. Epub 2023 Jul 20.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 37479627 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

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https://twitter.com/ComfortStudy

COMFORT study Twitter account

Other Identifiers

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HAS.19.02.126

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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