Communication During Medical Consultations in Singapore -Pilot

Communication Research Clinical Trial

— TEAMS-pilot  

Official title:

Training Oncologists and Empowering Patients in Affective Communication During Medical Consultations in Singapore (TEAMS) - A Pilot Study

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03671382
• Other study ID #: LCPC-IN
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: July 31, 2018
• Est. completion date: February 1, 2019

Study information

• Verified date: February 2019
• Source: Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Despite advanced cancer patients and their caregivers frequently experiencing psychological distress and wanting to know about their prognosis, oncologists rarely respond with empathy and provide adequate information regarding patient prognosis. We aim to address the communication gap during consultations by developing an Oncologist E-Learning Communications Skills Training Program guiding physicians on how to recognize and respond to patient/caregiver distress and to disclose prognosis; and a Patient Prompt Sheet to encourage discussions of psychological distress and prognosis. We will assess the feasibility of delivering this two-component intervention program within a cancer center in Singapore through a 2-arm randomized controlled trial in which 8 oncologists will be randomly assigned to Control Arm (n=4) and Intervention Arm (n=4). Oncologists in the intervention arm will receive the E-Learning Program. Their patients will also receive the Patient Prompt Sheet before their consultation with oncologist. After completion of oncologist intervention we will audio-record and survey 3 patients with Stage IV cancer and their caregivers per oncologist before and after their consultations. If the study is shown to be feasible and acceptable, then its effectiveness will be assessed in a larger trial.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 104
• Est. completion date: February 1, 2019
• Est. primary completion date: February 1, 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 21 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

The inclusion criteria for oncologists are

1. All consultants and senior residents/registrars in the Departments of Medical Oncology at National Cancer Centre, Singapore

2. Able to allow audio-recording during consultation

The inclusion criteria for patients are

1. Age = 21 years old

2. Patients who are consulting an oncologist who is participating in the study

3. Patients who are Singaporeans or Singapore Permanent Residents

4. Diagnosis of stage IV cancer (with metastasis to visceral organs)

5. Able to allow audio-recording during consultation

Exclusion Criteria:

The exclusion criteria for oncologists are

a. Rejecting audio-recording during consultation

The exclusion criteria for patients are

1. Age = 21 years old

2. Patients who are not Singaporeans or Singapore Permanent Residents

3. Rejecting audio-recording during consultation

4. Patients with psychiatric or cognitive disorder.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Communication Research

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Communication Training Program and Patient Prompt Sheet
The intervention being delivered is a two-component intervent. First component is the Oncologist Communication Skills Training Program. This is an e-learning module teaching oncologists to recognize and respond to patient/caregiver distress, provide information including prognosis and discuss goals of care. The second component is a patient prompt sheet which will be administered to three patients of intervention arm oncologists in the waiting area at least 30 minutes before their consultation. The sheet includes structured questions for patients to ask the oncologist about diagnosis and prognosis and will prompt patients to label and express their emotions in a direct manner.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Singapore	National Cancer Centre Singapore	Singapore

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Singapore, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Assess feasibility and acceptability of intervention	Measured by proportion of intervention arm oncologists completing their intervention	up to 3 months
Secondary	Assess increase in number of empathic statements by oncologists	Measured by coding audio-recorded consultations post-intervention	within 5 months
Secondary	Assess increase in number of questions related to their prognosis asked by patients	Measured by coding audio-recorded consultations post-intervention	within 5 months