Nurse-initiated Conversations for Early Integration of Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology

NCT ID: NCT05306509

Last Updated: 2025-01-27

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

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

120 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-08-01

Study Completion Date

2025-12-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This study aims to develop and implement a pediatric palliative care (PPC) program. It is an open-label, randomized trial (2:1 randomization) in pediatric oncology department of Children's Hospital of Fudan University. The intervention group will receive Nurse-initiated Conversations for Early Integration of Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology (NiCE). The control group will receive routine PPC (will be scheduled to meet with the PPC team only when participants themselves, their families, or the attending oncologist requested an appointment). The intervention will take 6 months.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Early integration of PPC, endorsed by a number of international societies, is well supported by evidence on providing multi-layer relief in children and their families over the course of any life-threatening illness. This study will leverage oncology nurses' role, culturally adapt the well-recognized St. Jude Children's Individualized Care Planning and Coordination (ICPC) Model to develop and evaluate a nurse-initiated conversation program to facilitate early integration of palliative care in pediatric oncology care.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Solid Tumor Hematological Malignancies

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Nurse-initiated conversations for early integration of palliative care (NiCE)

Participants will receive nurse-initiated conversations facilitating early integration of palliative care in pediatric oncology.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

NiCE

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive an initial conversation led by a trained senior nurse within eight weeks after initial oncologic diagnosis or relapse/recurrent disease diagnosis, with an introduction to the intervention and learning about the goals, values, hopes, and fears of each patient and family. The PPC team will then follow each patient by ongoing regular conversations (related to the child and family's conditions) led by the same nurse, every 4 weeks for six months, when symptom assessment and management, goal-directed supportive care, team collaboration, and care coordination will be delivered according to the family's needs. Increased PPC involvement, end-of-life care and bereavement care will be involved when necessary. If a participant feels any discomfort or distress during the intervention, a break will be taken until they feel better. If not, the central contact person will come and discussion about the participant's feeling and wiliness to continue the intervention.

Routine PPC

Participants will be scheduled to meet with the PPC team only when participants themselves, their families, or the attending oncologist requested an appointment.

Group Type OTHER

Routine PPC

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants will be scheduled to meet with the PPC team only when participants themselves, their families, or the attending oncologist requested an appointment.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

NiCE

Participants will receive an initial conversation led by a trained senior nurse within eight weeks after initial oncologic diagnosis or relapse/recurrent disease diagnosis, with an introduction to the intervention and learning about the goals, values, hopes, and fears of each patient and family. The PPC team will then follow each patient by ongoing regular conversations (related to the child and family's conditions) led by the same nurse, every 4 weeks for six months, when symptom assessment and management, goal-directed supportive care, team collaboration, and care coordination will be delivered according to the family's needs. Increased PPC involvement, end-of-life care and bereavement care will be involved when necessary. If a participant feels any discomfort or distress during the intervention, a break will be taken until they feel better. If not, the central contact person will come and discussion about the participant's feeling and wiliness to continue the intervention.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Routine PPC

Participants will be scheduled to meet with the PPC team only when participants themselves, their families, or the attending oncologist requested an appointment.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Children within eight weeks of initial oncologic diagnosis or within eight weeks of relapse/recurrent disease diagnosis
* Children speaking Chinese
* Children's family caregivers accompanying the child in the hospital (only one family member is eligible to take this role under current hospital policy)
* Children's family caregivers speaking Chinese
* Health care providers who are taking care of the eligible children, including but not limited to physicians, nurses, and social workers

Exclusion Criteria

\- Children who, in the opinion of their physician, are not capable mentally or verbally of participating in the survey or interview
Maximum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Children's Hospital of Fudan University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Xiaowen Zhai, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Children's Hospital of Fudan University

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Hemotology/Oncology Unit and Surgical Oncology Unit of Children's Hospital of Fudan University

Shanghai, Minhang, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

China

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Lei Cheng, PhD

Role: CONTACT

+8602164161784

Xiaowen Zhai, MD

Role: CONTACT

+8602164931123

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Hongsheng Wang, MD

Role: primary

8613916453373

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Schmidt P, Otto M, Hechler T, Metzing S, Wolfe J, Zernikow B. Did increased availability of pediatric palliative care lead to improved palliative care outcomes in children with cancer? J Palliat Med. 2013 Sep;16(9):1034-9. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2013.0014. Epub 2013 Jul 31.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23901834 (View on PubMed)

Snaman J, McCarthy S, Wiener L, Wolfe J. Pediatric Palliative Care in Oncology. J Clin Oncol. 2020 Mar 20;38(9):954-962. doi: 10.1200/JCO.18.02331. Epub 2020 Feb 5.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32023163 (View on PubMed)

Haun MW, Estel S, Rucker G, Friederich HC, Villalobos M, Thomas M, Hartmann M. Early palliative care for adults with advanced cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Jun 12;6(6):CD011129. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011129.pub2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28603881 (View on PubMed)

Mahmood LA, Casey D, Dolan JG, Dozier AM, Korones DN. Feasibility of Early Palliative Care Consultation for Children With High-Risk Malignancies. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2016 Aug;63(8):1419-22. doi: 10.1002/pbc.26024. Epub 2016 May 3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27148856 (View on PubMed)

Neuburg L. Early Initiation of Pediatric Palliative Care. J Pediatr Health Care. 2021 Jan-Feb;35(1):114-119. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2020.05.006. Epub 2020 Jul 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32660809 (View on PubMed)

Lafond DA, Kelly KP, Hinds PS, Sill A, Michael M. Establishing Feasibility of Early Palliative Care Consultation in Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. J Pediatr Oncol Nurs. 2015 Sep-Oct;32(5):265-77. doi: 10.1177/1043454214563411. Epub 2015 Jan 23.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25616372 (View on PubMed)

Levine DR, Johnson LM, Snyder A, Wiser RK, Gibson D, Kane JR, Baker JN. Integrating Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology: Evidence for an Evolving Paradigm for Comprehensive Cancer Care. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2016 Jun;14(6):741-8. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2016.0076.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27283167 (View on PubMed)

Baker JN, Hinds PS, Spunt SL, Barfield RC, Allen C, Powell BC, Anderson LH, Kane JR. Integration of palliative care practices into the ongoing care of children with cancer: individualized care planning and coordination. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2008 Feb;55(1):223-50, xii. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2007.10.011.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18242323 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

NiCE_21_427

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.