Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Conditions
Keywords
lupus nephritis, lupus, decision-making, minorities, immunosuppressive medications, decision-aid, treatment, Decision conflict, SLE
Brief summary
The study will compare the efficacy of the usual education materials to individualized computerized decision guide on decision conflict of patients with lupus nephritis making treatment decisions regarding immunosuppressive therapies.
Detailed description
The proposed study, a randomized controlled trial \[RCT\], will evaluate methods to assist minority lupus patients (African-Americans and Hispanics) to make shared decisions for the management of their lupus nephritis considering what is the best for them. We have developed an individualized patient decision guide that is culturally sensitive since it was developed solely based on the values, beliefs and preferences of minority patients. We will test the effectiveness of individualized decision aids in African-American and Hispanic lupus nephritis patients in a 2-arm randomized trial including 200 patients. We hypothesize that use of decision-aid will be associated with reduction in decisional conflict and more informed choice compared to usual care group (American College of Rheumatology \[ACR\] lupus pamphlet; co-primary effectiveness outcomes), both clinically meaningful and patient-centered outcomes. We chose the low-literacy decisional conflict scale as our primary outcome, since it is a validated measure, and the most commonly used outcome measure in decision aids RCTs. We use informed choice as a co-primary outcome, since this is conceptually most immediate to the intervention. It will measure whether in those with knowledge of risks and benefits of immunosuppressive drugs, patient values are concordant with their choice of immunosuppressive drug. Secondary outcomes include patient involvement in decision-making (concordance on control preference scale) and patient-physician communication (Interpersonal Processes of Care (IPC) score and analysis of audiotaped physician-patient Interaction (using the Active Patient Participation Coding Scheme (APPC)). Since we planned to recruit patients with current lupus nephritis flare (making current decision for an immunosuppressive drug) and with past lupus nephritis flares (making the same decision for a future lupus nephritis flare), two secondary outcomes (control preference scale for concordance of preferred and real role in deciding about immunosuppressive drugs and the audiotaped physician-patient interaction about immunosuppressive drugs) will be analyzed only in patients with current lupus nephritis flare, a subset of the entire cohort.
Interventions
The decision-aid contained information regarding lupus and lupus nephritis, its impact on patient lives and benefits and harms of lupus nephritis treatments, focused on immunosuppressive medications compared to each other. The content of the decision-aid allowed individualization based on patient preference for details on certain aspects, as well as the desire to view additional, optional sections of the decision-aid.
Patient received the standard handout/pamphlet from a non-profit organization (American College of Rheumatology \[ACR\]) regarding lupus and its treatments, that explained risks and benefits of various treatments
Sponsors
Study design
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
* adult female lupus nephritis patients, currently having a flare of lupus nephritis and considering change or initiation of an immunosuppressive medication (current flare) or had had flare of lupus nephritis in the past and at risk for a future lupus nephritis flare (future flare)
Exclusion criteria
* male; lupus but no lupus nephritis; change in lupus immunosuppressive treatment already made for current flare; end stage renal disease on dialysis; renal transplant or candidate for a renal transplant
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change From Baseline in Decisional Conflict Scale Scores | Baseline and after viewing the decision-aid or the standard hand-out (pamphlet) on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) but before treatment decision-making (usually within 1 week) | Patient self-administered, validated measure of decisional conflict, most commonly used as the primary outcome in RCTs of decision aids (change score). The score ranges from 0 (no decisional conflict) to 100 (extreme decisional conflict). Decisional conflict represents a state of uncertainty about a choice or course of action and is more likely in situations involving high-stakes choices with important potential gains and losses, value tradeoffs in selecting a choice or a course of action (vs. the alternative) or uncertain outcomes. |
| Informed Choice (Validated Instruments for Values Regarding Immunosuppressives, Knowledge About Immunosuppressives, and Treatment Decision-making) | After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) but before treatment decision-making (usually within 1 week) | Concordance between values related (for or against starting) immunosuppressive drugs with patients' decision (to start or not start) immunosuppressive drugs, in those with adequate knowledge about benefits/harms of immunosuppressive drugs, assessed using validated instruments for values regarding immunosuppressive drugs, knowledge about immunosuppressive drugs, and treatment decision-making (patient's decision to start immunosuppressive drug). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis of Audiotaped Physician-patient Interaction (Using the Active Patient Participation Coding Scheme (APPC)): Doctor Patient-centered Communication | After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) (usually within 1 week) | This was done by analyzing the audio-recorded patient-physician discussion in patients with current lupus nephritis flare. The APCC is a validated instrument to measure 'active patient participation.' APCC assesses indicators and facilitators of patient participation. The unit of coding is the utterance, the oral analogue of a sentence. The range is 0 to unlimited. Patient participation is measured by the number of questions, number of concerns expressed, and act of assertiveness (e.g., preferences, introducing topics, making requests). These are 'active' forms of participation because of their influence on clinician behavior and the structure and content of the consultation. The APPC also assess clinician behaviors that facilitate and support patient participation, partnership-building and supportive talk (e.g., reassurance, empathy). We present doctor patient-centered communication. higher scores indicates better patient participation and communication. |
| Control Preferences Scale: Patient Participation in Decision-making | After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) but before treatment decision-making (usually within 1 week) | This scale assessed how much decision-making control they would like to have versus actually experienced. There are 5 responses for 5 control options: active, active shared, collaborative, passive shared and passive, which were collapsed into active (active, active shared), collaborative, and passive (passive shared and passive), as previously (and pre-specified). Concordance was assessed between desired and actual role played by each patient. We present these data for patients with current flare only, since only they were making a decision about the immunosuppressive drugs; patients with past lupus flare were not included in the denominator. |
| Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) (usually within 1 week) | Feasibility of the decision-aid vs. pamphlet was assessed using a single statement The education guide was easy to use. Patients rated this on 5-point ordinal scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree (response options were: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly disagree). The number of patients was compared between the two treatment arms. |
| Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) (usually within 1 week) | Acceptability of the decision-aid (information quality and quantity, presentation style and usefulness) was assessed using a validated acceptability survey on 4-point scale ranging from excellent to poor (response options were: excellent, good, fair and poor). The number of patients rating each of the five statements as excellent (vs. other ratings) was compared between the two treatment arms. |
| Patient Physician Communication (Interpersonal Processes of Care (IPC) | After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) (usually within 1 week) | This was assessed using the interpersonal processes of care (IPC), an 18-item validated patient-reported measure of patient-physician communication and care processes. The score ranges from 18 (worst) to 90 (best) and the scale is a patient-reported measure of patient-physician communication and care processes. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Decision Aid Participants received decision aid tool providing information about medication choices for lupus nephritis | 151 |
| Pamphlet Participants received the standard American College of Rheumatology lupus pamphlet | 147 |
| Total | 298 |
Withdrawals & dropouts
| Period | Reason | FG000 | FG001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Study | Withdrawal by Subject | 2 | 1 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Decision Aid | Pamphlet | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 3 Participants | 1 Participants | 4 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 148 Participants | 146 Participants | 294 Participants |
| Age, Continuous | 37.1 Years | 37.6 Years | 37.3 Years |
| Decisional conflict | 33.37 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 29.55 | 37.48 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 29.85 | 35.4 units on a scale STANDARD_DEVIATION 29.72 |
| Knowledge about immunosuppressives Adequate Knowledge | 90 participants | 89 participants | 179 participants |
| Knowledge about immunosuppressives Inadequate Knowledge | 61 participants | 58 participants | 119 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Asian | 11 participants | 9 participants | 20 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Hispanic/Latino | 41 participants | 37 participants | 78 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Non-Hispanic Black | 70 participants | 71 participants | 141 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Non-Hispanic White | 20 participants | 24 participants | 44 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Not answered | 2 participants | 0 participants | 2 participants |
| Race/Ethnicity, Customized Other | 7 participants | 6 participants | 13 participants |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 151 participants | 147 participants | 298 participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 151 Participants | 147 Participants | 298 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 1 / 151 | 1 / 147 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 151 | 0 / 147 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 1 / 151 | 1 / 147 |
Outcome results
Change From Baseline in Decisional Conflict Scale Scores
Patient self-administered, validated measure of decisional conflict, most commonly used as the primary outcome in RCTs of decision aids (change score). The score ranges from 0 (no decisional conflict) to 100 (extreme decisional conflict). Decisional conflict represents a state of uncertainty about a choice or course of action and is more likely in situations involving high-stakes choices with important potential gains and losses, value tradeoffs in selecting a choice or a course of action (vs. the alternative) or uncertain outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline and after viewing the decision-aid or the standard hand-out (pamphlet) on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) but before treatment decision-making (usually within 1 week)
Population: All participants who received either the Decision Aid or Pamphlet
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Aid | Change From Baseline in Decisional Conflict Scale Scores | 21.80 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 30.89 |
| Pamphlet | Change From Baseline in Decisional Conflict Scale Scores | 12.69 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 24.41 |
Informed Choice (Validated Instruments for Values Regarding Immunosuppressives, Knowledge About Immunosuppressives, and Treatment Decision-making)
Concordance between values related (for or against starting) immunosuppressive drugs with patients' decision (to start or not start) immunosuppressive drugs, in those with adequate knowledge about benefits/harms of immunosuppressive drugs, assessed using validated instruments for values regarding immunosuppressive drugs, knowledge about immunosuppressive drugs, and treatment decision-making (patient's decision to start immunosuppressive drug).
Time frame: After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) but before treatment decision-making (usually within 1 week)
Population: All participants who received either the Decision Aid or Pamphlet.
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (NUMBER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Aid | Informed Choice (Validated Instruments for Values Regarding Immunosuppressives, Knowledge About Immunosuppressives, and Treatment Decision-making) | Informed Choice Made | 62 participants |
| Decision Aid | Informed Choice (Validated Instruments for Values Regarding Immunosuppressives, Knowledge About Immunosuppressives, and Treatment Decision-making) | No Informed Choice | 89 participants |
| Pamphlet | Informed Choice (Validated Instruments for Values Regarding Immunosuppressives, Knowledge About Immunosuppressives, and Treatment Decision-making) | Informed Choice Made | 46 participants |
| Pamphlet | Informed Choice (Validated Instruments for Values Regarding Immunosuppressives, Knowledge About Immunosuppressives, and Treatment Decision-making) | No Informed Choice | 101 participants |
Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent)
Acceptability of the decision-aid (information quality and quantity, presentation style and usefulness) was assessed using a validated acceptability survey on 4-point scale ranging from excellent to poor (response options were: excellent, good, fair and poor). The number of patients rating each of the five statements as excellent (vs. other ratings) was compared between the two treatment arms.
Time frame: After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) (usually within 1 week)
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Aid | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Risk factors | 64 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Evidence about medications | 71 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Impact of lupus nephritis | 74 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Studies about other patients | 64 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Medication options | 76 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Studies about other patients | 32 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Impact of lupus nephritis | 49 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Risk factors | 40 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Medication options | 49 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Acceptability (Number of Participants Rating Each Statement as Excellent) | Evidence about medications | 35 Participants |
Analysis of Audiotaped Physician-patient Interaction (Using the Active Patient Participation Coding Scheme (APPC)): Doctor Patient-centered Communication
This was done by analyzing the audio-recorded patient-physician discussion in patients with current lupus nephritis flare. The APCC is a validated instrument to measure 'active patient participation.' APCC assesses indicators and facilitators of patient participation. The unit of coding is the utterance, the oral analogue of a sentence. The range is 0 to unlimited. Patient participation is measured by the number of questions, number of concerns expressed, and act of assertiveness (e.g., preferences, introducing topics, making requests). These are 'active' forms of participation because of their influence on clinician behavior and the structure and content of the consultation. The APPC also assess clinician behaviors that facilitate and support patient participation, partnership-building and supportive talk (e.g., reassurance, empathy). We present doctor patient-centered communication. higher scores indicates better patient participation and communication.
Time frame: After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) (usually within 1 week)
Population: Only participants having a current lupus nephritis and requiring immunosuppressive medication change/initiation or participants with newly diagnosed lupus nephritis starting an immunosuppressive medication, who also agreed for an audio-recorded conversation.
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Aid | Analysis of Audiotaped Physician-patient Interaction (Using the Active Patient Participation Coding Scheme (APPC)): Doctor Patient-centered Communication | 5.1 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 2.1 |
| Pamphlet | Analysis of Audiotaped Physician-patient Interaction (Using the Active Patient Participation Coding Scheme (APPC)): Doctor Patient-centered Communication | 3.7 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.9 |
Control Preferences Scale: Patient Participation in Decision-making
This scale assessed how much decision-making control they would like to have versus actually experienced. There are 5 responses for 5 control options: active, active shared, collaborative, passive shared and passive, which were collapsed into active (active, active shared), collaborative, and passive (passive shared and passive), as previously (and pre-specified). Concordance was assessed between desired and actual role played by each patient. We present these data for patients with current flare only, since only they were making a decision about the immunosuppressive drugs; patients with past lupus flare were not included in the denominator.
Time frame: After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) but before treatment decision-making (usually within 1 week)
Population: Only participants having a current lupus nephritis and requiring immunosuppressive medication change/initiation or participants with newly diagnosed lupus nephritis starting an immunosuppressive medication.
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (NUMBER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Aid | Control Preferences Scale: Patient Participation in Decision-making | Concordance between roles | 33 participants |
| Decision Aid | Control Preferences Scale: Patient Participation in Decision-making | No concordance between roles | 2 participants |
| Pamphlet | Control Preferences Scale: Patient Participation in Decision-making | Concordance between roles | 28 participants |
| Pamphlet | Control Preferences Scale: Patient Participation in Decision-making | No concordance between roles | 5 participants |
Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement)
Feasibility of the decision-aid vs. pamphlet was assessed using a single statement The education guide was easy to use. Patients rated this on 5-point ordinal scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree (response options were: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly disagree). The number of patients was compared between the two treatment arms.
Time frame: After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) (usually within 1 week)
Population: One patient from pamphlet group did not respond to this question, therefore valid responses from pamphlet were 146, not 147
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Aid | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Neither Agree nor Disagree | 73 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Strongly Disagree | 1 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Disagree | 1 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Agree | 75 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Strongly Agree | 1 Participants |
| Decision Aid | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Missing | 0 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Strongly Agree | 1 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Neither Agree nor Disagree | 74 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Agree | 55 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Strongly Disagree | 3 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Missing | 1 Participants |
| Pamphlet | Feasibility (Number of Participants Rating the Feasibility of Using Decision-aid or Pamphlet- Referred to as Education Guide in This Statement) | Disagree | 13 Participants |
Patient Physician Communication (Interpersonal Processes of Care (IPC)
This was assessed using the interpersonal processes of care (IPC), an 18-item validated patient-reported measure of patient-physician communication and care processes. The score ranges from 18 (worst) to 90 (best) and the scale is a patient-reported measure of patient-physician communication and care processes.
Time frame: After viewing the guide or standard hand-out on the same visit as the intervention (preferred) (usually within 1 week)
Population: All participants who received either the Decision Aid or Pamphlet.
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Aid | Patient Physician Communication (Interpersonal Processes of Care (IPC) | 83.64 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 7.69 |
| Pamphlet | Patient Physician Communication (Interpersonal Processes of Care (IPC) | 83.06 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 7.28 |