Outcome
Type |
Measure |
Description |
Time frame |
Safety issue |
Other |
The Human Connection (THC) Scale |
The effect on changing physician communication on patient-physician relationships will be measured by The Human Connection (THC) scale. THC is a validated 16 item questionnaire that measures the extent to which patients felt a sense of mutual understanding, caring, and trust with their physicians. Patients are asked to circle one of four phrases that answers the questions. The 16-item THC questionnaire was internally consistent (Cronbach's a =.90) and valid, based on its expected positive association with emotional acceptance of the terminal illness (r=.31, P<.0001). Scores range from 16 (the lowest score, indicating a weak therapeutic alliance) and 64 (the high score, indicating a strong therapeutic alliance). |
One week, one month and three months from baseline (T2, T3, and T4) |
|
Other |
Levels of anxiety and depression in patients |
levels of anxiety and depression will be assessed via the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). It is a verified and brief 14-item tool that asks patients to choose a 1 out of 4 possible responses to each statement, with each response being assigned to a score of 0, 1, 2, or 3. 7 statements correspond to measuring depression, while the other 7 corresponding to measuring anxiety. Score of 0-7 indicates that the patient is "normal; 8-10 indicates the patient is borderline; and 11-21 indicates abnormal. |
1 week, 1 month and 3 months from baseline (T2, T3, and T4) |
|
Other |
Health Literacy in older adults compared to younger adults |
The researchers have developed a brief assessment of patient knowledge of: a) why the participants are a candidate for HSCT/BMT; b) what the procedure involves; c) risks and benefits posed by HSCT/BMT. The assessment will consist of multiple choice questions, with one fill-in-the-diagram question. The high score is 90, and the low score is 18. A score of 90 means that the participant fully understands the three points listed above. A score of 18 means that the participant has little to no understanding of the three points listed above. We will compare the scores of older adults (>65) to younger adults (<65) to see which group overall has a higher score. |
Baseline, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months from baseline (T1, T2, T3, and T4) |
|
Other |
Assessment of patient's health literacy |
Assessment of patient's health literacy via Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine - Short Form(REALM-SF) will be administered to control for variable health literacy. REALM-SF is a validated and brief literacy assessment tool of a patient's health literacy. REALM-SF consists of a list of 7 medically related words that is shown to the patient. Patients are asked to read the words out loud in order of the list, with the option of saying "pass" when they encounter a word that they do not recognize, allowing them to move onto the next word; alternatively, patients taking longer than 5 seconds to read a word will be told to move onto the next word by the interviewer. Each word a patient recognizes is a point that is used to score the assessment. 0 points is equivalent to a 3rd grade reading level, 1-3 points is equivalent to a 4th to 6th grade level, 4-6 points is equivalent to a 7th to 8th grade level, and 7 points is equivalent to at least a high school level. |
1 week, 1 month and 3 months from baseline (T2, T3, and T4) |
|
Primary |
Change from 1 week post baseline understanding at 3 months |
Evidence that patients assigned to physicians trained in the GIST approach will have improved recall of information and be able to answer more questions correctly about HSCT/BMT than those assigned to care as usual. The researchers have developed a brief assessment of patient knowledge of: a) why the participants are a candidate for HSCT/BMT; b) what the procedure involves; c) risks and benefits posed by HSCT/BMT. The assessment will consist of multiple choice questions, with one fill-in-the-diagram question. The high score is 90, and the low score is 18. A score of 90 means that the participant fully understands the three points listed above. A score of 18 means that the participant has little to no understanding of the three points listed above. |
1 week, 1 month and 3 months from baseline (T2, T3, and T4) |
|
Secondary |
Patient's emotional acceptance of their illness |
We will use 5 relevant items from the validated PEACE scale which asks patients about how accepting they are of their illness. Responses include "not at all", "to a slight extent", "to some extent", "to a large extent". The questionnaire is composed of two combined subscales: a 2-item "Peaceful Acceptance" and a 3-item "Struggle with Illness" subscale. Both subscales are associated with patients' self-reported peacefulness "Struggle with Illness" scores are associated with acknowledgement of cognitive terminal illness. The low score for this scale is 5 (indicating little acceptance) and the high score is 20 (indicating high acceptance). |
1 week, 1 month and 3 months from baseline (T2, T3, and T4) |
|
Secondary |
Patient's emotional acceptance of their lives |
The MEPSI is an 8 item questionnaire (shortened from the original) that asks patients to respond to phrases regarding how they view their lives. Responses include "not at all", "to a slight extent", "to some extent", "to a large extent". The questionnaire is composed of two combined subscales: a 4 item "Positive" subscale and a 4-item "Negative" subscale. The low score for this scale is 8 (indicating little acceptance) and the high score is 32 (indicating high acceptance). |
1 week, 1 month and 3 months from baseline (T2, T3, and T4) |
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