Meaningful contextual communication in cancer care

A mixed-method implementation study of a design-based educational intervention to enhance meaningful contextual communication in care planning with advanced cancer patients and their families across Europe

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN14737915

Enrollment

800

Registered

2021-09-15

Start date

2025-06-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2021-09-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Increasing meaningful contextual communication between multidisciplinary palliative care teams, patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers. Cancer

Interventions

The observational cross-sectional study in year 1 comprises of a comprehensive European-wide (The Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Spain, Italy) qualitative current practic

ii) how these stakeholders from different European cultures understand meaningful contextual communication in palliative care

iii) how HCPs define the concept ‘meaningful contextual communication’ and which ‘language’ they use for it

iv) what makes team-based learning in European palliative care work? For point iv, additionally two focus groups per country (total N=16) will be conducted with 10-15 stakeholders (total N˜200). It wi

ii) 4C coding of audio-recorded consultations (N˜320)

iii) a structured retrospective after-death questionnaire study amongst HCP most involved in care (N˜800) and a family caregiver closely involved (N˜800), also about the patient*. * al

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Adult (>18 years of age) patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers under treatment of included multidisciplinary teams in palliative care

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Patients with intellectual disabilities 2. Children

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
1. Observational pre-study: current practice, perspectives, cultures measured amongst HCPs, patients, family caregivers and relevant experts using interviews (N=80 per stakeholder group) Main interventional study: 2. Experiences of HCPs, patients and their family caregivers with current care measured using interviews at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 3. Contextual communication measured in audio-taped consultations using 4C coding, at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1)	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Observational pre-study: current practice, perspectives, cultures measured amongst HCPs, patients, family caregivers and relevant experts using interviews (N=80 per stakeholder group) Main interventional study: 2. Experiences of HCPs, patients and their family caregivers with current care measured using interviews at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 3. Contextual communication measured in audio-taped consultations using 4C coding, at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1)

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. HCP competence measured using questionnaire (SCCS), at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 2. HCP job satisfaction measured using questionnaire (NEXT study), at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 3. Patient QoL measured using questionnaires (EQ5D-5L, FACIT-Sp, ICECAP-SCM) at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 4. Family caregiver burden measured using questionnaire (CRA) at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 5. Costs measured using consultation length and questionnaire (RUD) at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1)	—

Measure

Time frame

1. HCP competence measured using questionnaire (SCCS), at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 2. HCP job satisfaction measured using questionnaire (NEXT study), at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 3. Patient QoL measured using questionnaires (EQ5D-5L, FACIT-Sp, ICECAP-SCM) at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 4. Family caregiver burden measured using questionnaire (CRA) at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1) 5. Costs measured using consultation length and questionnaire (RUD) at baseline (T0) and 3-6 months post-intervention (T1)

—

Countries

Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026