Effect of Intensivist Communication on Surrogate Prognosis Interpretation

Critical Illness Clinical Trial

Official title: The Effect of Intensivist Communication on Prognosis Interpretation by Family Members of Patients at High Risk for Intensive Care Unit Admission: A Randomized Trial

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

This study evaluates the effect of physician communication styles on the interpretation of prognosis by family members of chronically-ill patients. Participants were randomized to view one of four videos how depicting different physicians disclose prognosis when physicians expect an ICU patient to die.

Clinical Trial Description

Intensivist-surrogate discordance about prognosis is common in the intensive care unit. Minimizing discordance and empowering families to make informed decisions about participants' loved one's care is important, but it is unclear how best to communicate prognostic information to vulnerable surrogates when a patient is expected to die. Participants are randomized to view one of 4 intensivist communication styles in response to the question "What do you think is most likely to happen?": 1) a direct response (control), 2) an indirect response comparing the patient's condition to other patients, 3) an indirect response describing physiology, or 4) redirection to a discussion of patient values and goals.

The participant will then be asked a series of questions to measure participants' interpretation of what the intensivist says. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Critical Illness

• NCT number: NCT04239209
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Johns Hopkins University
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 27, 2019
• Completion date: October 17, 2019