None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This study examines the potential of a web-based tool to help cancer doctors explain survival time to their patients with advanced cancer who wish to receive information about their likely survival time. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you have been diagnosed with incurable cancer, you wish to receive information on your prognosis and you are able and willing to complete a written study questionnaire about your attitudes to the web-based tool anfd the information you received. The study will also collect information from medical oncologists and other health professionals involved in the care of the cancer patients, along with family members and carers of the patient in order to build an overall picture of the usefulness of the tool. The overall duration of the study is 6 months but if you participate you are only required to complete one questionnaire that takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Trial details: The aim of this study is to find out if patients and their family members find the information provided by the web-based tool helpful and if cancer doctors find using the web-based tool helpful. We will also be providing information on likely survival time to other doctors and nurses helping to care for these patients to find out if they find receiving this sort of information on their patients helpful. The overall duration of the study will be for 6 months and each participating cancer patients will be given 2 weeks to complete and return a written questionnaire.
Interventions
The intervention is a web-based tool (iTool) designed to assist oncologists calculate and explain three individualized scenarios for survival - best case, worst case and most likely- to patients with incurable cancer who want this sort of information.
The iTool can be accessed on any computer with an internet connection but for this study it will be loaded onto iPads that oncologists will use in the clinic with patients. When a participating oncologist has a patient requesting survival infor
The intervention is a web-based tool (iTool) designed to assist oncologists calculate and explain three individualized scenarios for survival - best case, worst case and most likely- to patients with incurable cancer who want this sort of information. The iTool can be accessed on any computer with an internet connection but for this study it will be loaded onto iPads that oncologists will use in the clinic with patients. When a participating oncologist has a patient requesting survival information, the oncologist is required to use their knowledge and experience to estimate the “median” survival for a group of patients with a similar cancer, treatment status and prognostic factors to the one in question. The oncologist enters the estimate in months into the iTool and the iTool calculates three scenarios for survival using simple formulae discovered in previous work These scenarios will be displayed on the iPad screen with an image to assist the oncologist communicate the information to the patient. This screenshot can be printed after the consultation with copies available for the patient and/or family members to take home, a copy placed in the patient’s notes and a copy sent to other health professionals involved in the patient’s care. The iTool will be used by each participating oncologist as often as required during the 6 month study period. We estimate each oncologist will use the tool once per week.
Sponsors
NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Patients - attending outpatient clinic of participating medical oncologist - diagnosed with advanced cancer - want information on their prognosis - able and willing to complete the study questionnaires 2. Australian medical oncologists caring for patients with advanced cancer 3. Other health professionals involved in the care of the patient 4. Family members and carers of the patient present in the room when the oncologist explains prognosis to the patient All participants must be able to speak and write in English
Exclusion criteria
people unable to speak and write English patients with early (curable) cancer patients who do not want information on their prognosis people unable to provide informed consent patients currently admitted to the hospital (inpatients)
Outcome results
None listed