The current interdisciplinary specialist palliative care model focuses on supporting patients with advanced cancer who have complex problems in the last weeks of life. Consequently, palliative care is often provided late and in response to uncontrolled symptoms during crises. Palliative care models should shift from this reactionary illness-stress paradigm to a proactive health-wellness approach that is integrated early in the patient's disease trajectory. A proactive early palliative care telehealth model, ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends), was developed in the U.S. to coach patients with advanced cancers and their family caregivers on how to cope effectively with serious illness. By empowering individuals early before acute distress and symptoms occur, patients and families can better mitigate and avoid crises. Building on positive health outcomes demonstrated by the ENABLE model in the U.S., the study team has successfully pilot-tested a culturally adapted ENABLE-SG model in Singapore. This study seeks to test the effectiveness of this ENABLE-SG model among patients with recently diagnosed advanced cancer and their caregivers while simultaneously collecting data on real-world implementation.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the ENABLE-SG model, we will conduct a randomized wait-list controlled trial comparing clinical outcomes at 6 months between patients and caregivers receiving early ENABLE-SG and their wait-listed counterparts receiving usual care. Eligible patients and their caregivers will be randomly assigned at baseline to receive ENABLE-SG either immediately or after a 6-month waiting period. To evaluate ways to improve implementation, the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) will be used to systematically identify processes that influence implementation outcomes. The specific aims and hypotheses of this study are: 1. Assess the effectiveness of ENABLE-SG among patients with advanced cancer. We hypothesize that at 6 months, compared to usual care, patients who received ENABLE-SG will have better health-related quality of life (QoL), mood, health status, coping strategies, lesser palliative care concerns, lesser acute healthcare utilisation, and smaller hospital bill size. At 12 months, compared to wait-list control group, early ENABLE-SG recipients will have better primary and secondary outcomes. 2. Assess the effectiveness of ENABLE-SG among caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. We hypothesize that at 6 months, compared to usual care, caregivers who received ENABLE-SG will have better caregiver health-related QoL, mood, coping strategies, satisfaction with care, and lower caregiving costs. At 12 months, compared to wait-list control group, early ENABLE-SG recipients will have better primary and secondary outcomes. 3. Assess ways to improve ENABLE-SG implementation in the real-world context.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
715
Patients and caregivers will receive individual structured psycho-educational sessions with a health coach. These sessions will be primarily delivered over the phone. Patient and caregiver dyads will have different health coaches. Patients will have six sessions on the topics of maintaining positivity, self-care, coping with stress, managing symptoms, exploring what matters most, and life review. Caregivers will have four sessions on the topics of maintaining positivity, self-care, coping with stress, and managing symptoms. All sessions will begin with screening for distress using the Distress Thermometer and Problem List culturally adapted from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. From screening results, the health coach can flexibly change the order of the topics to address specific problems. It will take approximately three months to complete all sessions.
* 6-month wait-list control. Participants will receive the ENABLE-SG model six months after baseline (six sessions for patients and four sessions for caregivers) at an approximately weekly interval. * Interventions: ENABLE-SG model
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Singapore, Singapore
RECRUITINGHealth-related quality of life of patients with advanced cancer
Quality of life score measured using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Palliative (FACIT-Pal), a 46-item measure with a quality of life scale (4 domains: physical, emotional, social, and functional well-being) and a palliative care subscale. It has demonstrated internal consistency, reliability and validity for persons with advanced cancer. Scores range from 0 to 184, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.
Time frame: 6th month.
Health-related quality of life of caregivers
Quality of life score measured using the Singapore Caregiver Quality of Life Scale (SCQOLS), a 15-item quality of life measure covering 5 domains: physical well-being, mental well-being, experience \& meaning, impact on daily living, and financial well-being. The domain scores will be scaled to range from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating better quality of life.
Time frame: 6th month.
Longitudinal changes in health-related quality of life of patients with advanced cancer across assessment timepoints
Longitudinal changes in quality of life score measured using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Palliative (FACIT-Pal), across assessment timepoints. FACIT-Pal is a 46-item measure with a quality of life scale (4 domains: physical, emotional, social, and functional well-being) and a palliative care subscale. It has demonstrated internal consistency, reliability and validity for persons with advanced cancer. Scores range from 0 to 184, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.
Time frame: Baseline, 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, 12th month.
Longitudinal changes in health-related quality of life of caregivers across assessment timepoints
Longitudinal changes in quality of life score measured using the Singapore Caregiver Quality of Life Scale (SCQOLS), across assessment timepoints. SCQOLS is a 15-item quality of life measure covering 5 domains: physical well-being, mental well-being, experience \& meaning, impact on daily living, and financial well-being. The domain scores will be scaled to range from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating better quality of life.
Time frame: Baseline, 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, 12th month.
Mood of patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers
Mood measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D), a 20-item measure of symptoms clustered in 4 domains: depressed affect, somatic complaints, positive affect, and interpersonal activity. Scores will be scored to a total score ranging from 0 to 60, with higher scores indicating greater frequency of depressive experiences.
Time frame: Baseline, 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, 12th month.
Coping strategies of patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers
Coping strategies measured using the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief-COPE) Inventory, a 28-item measure of coping strategies in 14 subscales: self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, use of emotional support, use of instrumental support, behavioural disengagement, venting, positive reframing, planning, humour, acceptance, religion, and self-blame. This scale has been validated in the cancer population. Each subscale score will be derived from the sum of two corresponding items scored on a 4-point Likert scale from "I do not do this at all" to "I usually do this a lot".
Time frame: Baseline, 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, 12th month.
Palliative care concerns of patients with advanced cancer
Palliative care concerns measured using the Integrated Palliative Care Outcomes Scale (IPOS), a brief measure of palliative care problems, covering physical and psychological symptoms, social and spiritual issues, communication, information needs, and practical concerns. The scores on all items will be summed to give a total score ranging from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating more care needs.
Time frame: Baseline, 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, 12th month.
Health states of patients with advanced cancer
Health states measured using the EuroQOL Group 5-Dimension Health-related Quality of Life Measurement (EQ-5D-5L), which contains a 5-item descriptive system measuring 5 dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/ discomfort, anxiety/ depression; a visual analogue scale measuring overall health status.
Time frame: Baseline, every 3 months until death or end of the study.
Healthcare resource utilization of patients with advanced cancer
The following data will be extracted from electronic medical records: dates of emergency department visits and hospital admissions, hospital bill size, date of first review by existing palliative care services, date of death, and place of death.
Time frame: Baseline until death or end of the study.
Caregivers' satisfaction with care
Satisfaction with care measured using the Family Satisfaction with End-of-Life Care (FAMCARE) Scale, a 10-item unidimensional scale measuring family satisfaction. Scores on all items will be summed to give a total score ranging from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher satisfaction levels.
Time frame: Baseline, 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, 12th month.
Healthcare resource utilization of caregivers
Healthcare resource utilization and caregiving cost. A questionnaire recording employment status and productivity loss (hours missed from work, impairment while at work, and impairment in regular activities) due to caregiving. The following data will be extracted from electronic medical records: dates of emergency department visits and hospital admissions, and hospital bill size.
Time frame: Baseline, 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, 12th month.
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