This study will test the feasibility of carrying out a randomised controlled trial, incorporating a mixed methods process evaluation, to evaluate advance care planning with older patients who have end-stage kidney disease.
Kidney failure becomes more common as people age. It increases the risks of other major illnesses, sudden worsening of symptoms, and death. Even so, many people with kidney failure do not talk about their preferences for end-of-life care. Advance care planning (ACP) can help patients and families think through their preferences for future care and discuss these with the professionals looking after them. This may lead to care more in keeping with patients' wishes and so reduce distress for patients and families. ACP is recommended as good practice for people with kidney failure. However, questions remain about the impact of ACP on patients and families; and also about the best ways to put ACP into practice. Doing research about ACP is challenging for everyone involved, so we need to thoroughly test our research methods in a pilot study before we attempt a larger study that would fully answer those questions. To test our methods we will carry out a small-scale randomised controlled trial comparing those patients who use ACP with those who do not, in terms of: quality of life, anxiety, depression, physical functioning, well-being, satisfaction with decision-making and agreement between the patient and their nominated carer in terms of the patient's preferences for care at the end of life.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
36
Participants will be offered the opportunity to complete an ACP by a nurse trained as an ACP facilitator, who will discuss the process with them using standard materials. At least 48 hours later, they will complete an ACP document with the help of the ACP facilitator, working together with trained expert patients who will provide peer support at the time of ACP completion and subsequently by telephone, assisted where necessary by the ACP facilitator.
Queen's University Belfast
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Kidney Disease Quality
Quality of life as measured by the Kidney Disease Quality of Life instrument - Short Form (KDQOL-36™). The KDQOL-36 has five scales, including two generic health related quality of life (HRQOL) scales from the Short-Form (SF)-12 version 1 (12 items total) and three kidney-specific scales (24 items total). Each scale has a minimum score of zero and a maximum of 100. Higher scores reflect better quality of life and a better outcome. Subscales are not combined.
Time frame: 12 weeks post intervention
Number of Participants With Agreement Between the Patient and Their Nominated Carer in Terms of the Patient's Preferences
Number of Participants with Agreement between the patient and their nominated carer in terms of the patient's preferences. We will measure this by asking the carer to make an independent assessment of the patient's preferences in relation to the key information covered by the ACP intervention, before taking part in the ACP.
Time frame: 12 weeks post intervention
Depression
Degree of anxiety, depression, well-being, functioning and risk as measured by the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation measure (CORE 34) a 34- item Likert-type scale scored on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (most or all the time). The minimum mean value is zero and the maximum is 4. Higher scores indicate greater distress and a worse outcome. Mean scores from reference groups are 1.86 (SD 0.75) for those referred to psychiatric services and 0.76 (SD 0.59) for the general population.
Time frame: 12 weeks post intervention
The Degree to Which the Patient Felt That They Had Shared in Decision-making.
The degree to which the patient felt that they had shared in decision-making about their care as measured by the Patient Experience of Shared Decision Making (SHARED) instrument. This is a a ten-item Likert-type scale ranging from 'Disagree strongly' to 'Agree strongly', with one point for 'Agree', two for 'Agree strongly', and no points for disagreement. The minimum score is zero and the maximum is 20. Higher scores indicate more sharing and a better outcome.
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Time frame: 12 weeks post intervention