Skip to content

Interactive Educational Website for Women With Ovarian Cancer & Caregivers

Making End of Life Decision in Ovarian Cancer: When to Enter Hospice? A Prototype Interactive Computer Program for Patients and Providers

Status
Completed
Phases
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01626014
Enrollment
53
Registered
2012-06-22
Start date
2012-08-31
Completion date
2014-12-31
Last updated
2015-12-02

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

Conditions

Fallopian Tube Cancer, Recurrent Ovarian Cancer, Stage III Ovarian Cancer, Stage IV Ovarian Cancer

Keywords

Stage III ovarian cancer, Stage IV ovarian cancer, recurrent ovarian cancer, primary peritoneal cancer, fallopian tube cancer

Brief summary

Ovarian cancer accounts for more deaths than any other gynecologic malignancy. The majority of patients are diagnosed with Stage III-IV disease. Nearly 80% of these patients will recur resulting in 5-year survival rates of 14-32%. Although enrollment is increasing in hospice, hospice programs have been challenged to reach eligible patients. Several factors limit the number of people who enroll in hospice and the length of their hospice stay. Prognostication challenges and the increasing availability of cancer therapies for people with cancer set the stage for a mismatch between certification of a 6 month prognosis and contemporary medical care. Additionally patients often are not aware of hospice and the services they can provide.

Detailed description

In this study, we will pilot-test a technology-based approach for women with Stage III/IV or recurrent ovarian cancer, their caregiver, and their providers to assist in and study the decision-making process that surrounds end-of-life decisions, specifically, opting for palliative care and/or entry into hospice care. We will randomize the women and their caregivers into either our intervention or control websites. All subjects will complete a battery of demographic, psychosocial, health status and outcomes, health information, and decision making measures at baseline and 60-day post-baseline. Once the participant has completed the baseline survey, he/she will be automatically brought to their assigned website. Both the patient and their caregiver will be assigned the same group (intervention or control). All participants will have open access to their respective study websites for a minimum of 60 days. During enrollment, participants will agree to access their respective websites at least 2-3 times per week. Both patients and caregivers assigned to the control arm will view a website containing documents generally provided as part of the usual care. They will be requested to log in with the same frequency as the intervention group.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALUsual Care Educational Website

Using the control website: Participants access a website with standard ovarian cancer informational handouts.

BEHAVIORALPrototype System

An interactive system for patients and their caregivers includes features allowing users to create their own profile, share a journal with others, and post to respective discussion forums. In addition, core intervention components include distress monitoring, educational items, details about the healthcare team and an areas to keep track of questions for providers.

Sponsors

University of Minnesota
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Women with Stage III, IV or recurrent ovarian, primary peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer or a nominated caregiver or such women * 18 years old or older * At least a 5th grade education * Able to read and write in English * Access to computer and internet * Voluntary written informed consent before study entry, with the understanding that consent may be withdrawn by the subject at any time without prejudice to future medical care * No known major psychiatric or neurological diagnosis (schizophrenia or active chemical dependency)

Exclusion criteria

* Borderline ovarian cancer

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Comparison of Number of Women Who Completed Advanced DirectiveDay 60 After BaselineCount of number of women with ovarian cancer who completed a new or updated their Advanced Directive during the study period.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Comparison of Number of Women Who Report Appointment with Palliative CareDay 60 After BaselineCount of number of women with ovarian cancer who report an appointment with a Palliative Care specialist

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026