To support advanced cancer patients, for whom standard therapy is no longer available, and their oncologists in therapy decisions, the investigators aim to develop a decision-making aid (DA) in a multi-phased bicentric study. The DA aims to help patients to understand better risks and benefits of available treatment options including the options of standard palliative care, off-label drug use within an individual treatment plan and involvement in early clinical trials.
Decisions about the provision of anticancer therapy and the initiation of palliative care in the last months of life are frequent and challenging in clinical practice. Research indicates that there is considerable heterogeneity regarding clinical practice in this context and that oncologists' values influence treatment decisions, as well as whether or not patients participate in these decisions. While there is evidence that seriously ill patients differ in their choices between treatment options compared to healthy persons, as well as in their evaluation of treatment goals and related care settings, there is a lack of analysis regarding criteria relevant to patients in the last 6 months of life, when assessing the benefit of anticancer treatment and palliative care. Yet, in decisions about anticancer treatment and involvement of palliative care, patients' preferences and values are of particular importance since anticancer treatment - while associated with high expectations for a positive effect - often has only marginal influence on prognosis towards the end of a cancer trajectory and sometimes forestalls choosing a palliative care setting or coping with the disease. Hence, the decision has a high impact on patients' last months of life. Involving patients more actively in the planning of their care has been on the agenda for more than a decade, but the implementation of this idea in routine clinical practice remains a challenge. Instead, oncologists often avoid prognosticating and eliciting patient preferences for or against anticancer treatment and values in the last phase of life. One important reason is that oncologists report discussions about ending anticancer therapy the most challenging communication task. To support advanced cancer patients, for whom standard therapy is no longer available, and their oncologists in therapy decisions, the investigators aim to develop a decision-making aid (DA) in a multi-phased bicentric study. The DA aims to help patients to understand better risks and benefits of available treatment options including the options of standard palliative care, off-label drug use within an individual treatment plan and involvement in early clinical trials. Methods and analysis: In phase I, the DA will be developed after exploration of decisional needs of patients and views of health care providers based on face-to face interviews and focus groups discussions. Subsequently, the DA will be alpha-tested and redrafted, as necessary, in phase II. In phase III, the DA will be (1) beta-tested with patients and oncologists and (2), and assessed by experts. In the last project phase, the investigators will run a pre-post design study with doctor-patient-encounters to access improvements on primary study outcome, i.e. patients' level of decisional conflict. In addition, the user acceptance will be tested.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
70
Oncologists and patients will use the decision aid in the same situation (change of treatment needs to be discussed with the patient - either because of disease progression or treatment toxicity or other reasons (e.g. change of care setting).
University Hospital Heidelberg
Heidelberg, Germany
RECRUITINGLevel of decisional conflict
Level of decisional conflict will be measured with the Decision Conflict Scale that assesses patients' perceptions of uncertainty, modifiable factors con-tributing to uncertainty, and ultimate satisfaction with the choice. It is one of the most robust and validated instruments to test the impact of decision aids also in end-of-life decision making. It has 16 items and 5 response categories, ranging from "0" -strongly agree till "4"-strongly disagree
Time frame: Baseline
Level of decisional conflict
Level of decisional conflict will be measured with the Decision Conflict Scale that assesses patients' perceptions of uncertainty, modifiable factors con-tributing to uncertainty, and ultimate satisfaction with the choice. It is one of the most robust and validated instruments to test the impact of decision aids also in end-of-life decision making. It has 16 items and 5 response categories, ranging from "0" -strongly agree till "4"-strongly disagree
Time frame: 26 weeks
Patients' involvement in decision-making
Patients' involvement in decision-making will be assessed with the German questionnaire on shared decision making. It has 9 items with 6-points Likert scale, ranging from "0-not at all" till "6 -fully correct". The higher score means more shared decision making.
Time frame: Baseline
Patients' involvement in decision-making
Patients' involvement in decision-making will be assessed with the German questionnaire on shared decision making. It has 9 items with 6-points Likert scale, ranging from "0-not at all" till "6 -fully correct". The higher score means more shared decision making.
Time frame: 26 weeks
The trade-off between patients' preferences for quality and length of life
The trade-off between patients' preferences for quality and length of life will be assessed with the German validated version of "Quality and Quantity Questionnaire" The questionnaire consists of nine items in two preference dimensions: Q(uality) of life (QL) and L(ength) of life (LL). Patients indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with the statements on a 5-point Likert scale. High scores on the quantity or quality scale indicate the importance of length or quality of life, respectively.
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Time frame: Baseline
The trade-off between patients' preferences for quality and length of life
The trade-off between patients' preferences for quality and length of life will be assessed with the German validated version of "Quality and Quantity Questionnaire" The questionnaire consists of nine items in two preference dimensions: Q(uality) of life (QL) and L(ength) of life (LL). Patients indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with the statements on a 5-point Likert scale. High scores on the quantity or quality scale indicate the importance of length or quality of life, respectively.
Time frame: 26 weeks
Preferred role of the patient in decision-making
Preferred role of the patient in decision-making will be assessed with a German version of the Control Preference Scale (CPS). It consists of five statement (A, B, C, D, E) that each portrays a different role in treatment decision-making. For analysis a categorical variable, which is the person's most preferred role in treatment decision-making, will be created. Preference orders will be reclassified into Active (A, B), Collaborative ( C) and Passive (D, E). Ordinal categorical analysis can be applied.
Time frame: Baseline
Preferred role of the patient in decision-making
Preferred role of the patient in decision-making will be assessed with a German version of the Control Preference Scale (CPS). It consists of five statement (A, B, C, D, E) that each portrays a different role in treatment decision-making. For analysis a categorical variable, which is the person's most preferred role in treatment decision-making, will be created. Preference orders will be reclassified into Active (A, B), Collaborative ( C) and Passive (D, E).Ordinal categorical analysis can be applied.
Time frame: 26 weeks
Satisfaction with the oncologist-patient interaction
Satisfaction with the oncologist-patient interaction will be assessed using the validated questionnaire on the Quality of Physician-Patient Interaction (QQPPI). It has 14 Items with a 5-point scale (range: 1 \[I do not agree\] to 5 \[I fully agree\]).
Time frame: Baseline
Satisfaction with the oncologist-patient interaction
Satisfaction with the oncologist-patient interaction will be assessed using the validated questionnaire on the Quality of Physician-Patient Interaction (QQPPI). It has 14 Items with a 5-point scale (range: 1 \[I do not agree\] to 5 \[I fully agree\]).
Time frame: 26 weeks
Effect on hope
Effect on hope will be assessed with a German Version of the Herth Hope Index (HHI-D). It has 12 items with a 4-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate more hope.
Time frame: Baseline
Effect on hope
Effect on hope will be assessed with a German Version of the Herth Hope Index (HHI-D). It has 12 items with a 4-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate more hope.
Time frame: 26 weeks
Effect on patients' quality of life
Quality of life will be assessed with the EORTC QLQ-C30, a questionnaire developed to measure the quality of life of cancer patients. The QLQ-C30 has global health status, five functional scales, and three symptom scales. High scores of functional scales means healthy functioning. A high score for global health status means a higher quality of life. A high score of symptom scales demonstrates a high level of problems. Scores for all scales and single items range from 0 to 100.
Time frame: Baseline
Effect on patients' quality of life
Quality of life will be assessed with the EORTC QLQ-C30, a questionnaire developed to measure the quality of life of cancer patients. The QLQ-C30 has global health status, five functional scales, and three symptom scales. High scores of functional scales means healthy functioning. A high score for global health status means a higher quality of life. A high score of symptom scales demonstrates a high level of problems. Scores for all scales and single items range from 0 to 100.
Time frame: 26 weeks