Chronic IllnessNCT03434626
Advance Care Planning & Goals of Care Randomized Controlled Trial in Primary Care
A study testing ACP Education in people with Chronic Illness and Comorbidities, run by McMaster University at 2 sites in Canada.
Trial summary
Sometimes people with health conditions become ill suddenly and can no longer speak for themselves and another person (such as a family member) will make health care decisions for them. This means it is important for people to think about their wishes and tell others about them. This is called advance care planning. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 65 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Chronic Illness, Comorbidities
- What is being tested?
- ACP Education
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 120 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesCanada
- Study dates
- 20 Oct 2017to 31 Dec 2018
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 65 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Older adult
Who may be able to join
- age 65 years or older
- have at least one chronic condition that may be life-limiting
Who cannot join
- Unable to communicate with an English-speaking research coordinator
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 1 country.
Canada2 sites
Family Medical Centre
Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M5
Chinook Primary Care Network
Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 5M5
About this study
Official title: A Randomized Trial of ACP/GCD Care Pathway in Primary Care in Alberta
Sometimes people with health conditions become ill suddenly and can no longer speak for themselves and another person (such as a family member) will make health care decisions for them. This means it is important for people to think about their wishes and tell others about them. This is called advance care planning. When people have done advance care planning, if they become very sick and cannot speak for themselves they are more likely to get the kind of health care they want and it is easier for the people who make decisions for them. In Alberta, there is a form in the health care system that is used to indicate a person's wishes if participants are unable to speak for themselves. There are tools such as brochures, questionnaires, and videos that can help participants learn about advance care planning and serious illness conversations. This research is being done to study whether using tools for advance care planning will help improve goals of care designation completion rates in such a way that they better reflect patient values. In this project, we aim to determine the efficacy of tools to increase the quality and quantity of advance care planning (ACP) and Goals of Care Determinations (GCD) in primary care settings in Alberta.
Read the detailed description
In prospective and randomized trials, advance care planning (ACP) significantly improves outcomes including increased likelihood that clinicians and families understand and comply with a patient's wishes, reduces hospitalization at the end of life, results in less intensive treatments at the end of life (according to patients' wishes) and increases use of hospice services. Trials have not been done in primary care. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of a care pathway designed to increase the quality and quantity of ACP in patients and their substitute decision-makers in primary care. The study is a multi-site, patient-based, unblinded, randomized trial conducted in family practices in Canada. Participants will be patients who are determined by their physician to be able to benefit from ACP, and the patient's substitute decision-maker. Participant pairs will be randomized to immediate intervention (care pathway) or delayed (8-12 weeks). The intervention is guided use of tools and decision aids to clarify values and preferences for treatments in the event of serious illness or near end of life. The outcomes will be presence of a goals of care form in the chart, substitute decision-maker engagement in ACP (including self-efficacy for enacting the role), patient engagement in ACP, and decisional conflict.
- Conditions
- Chronic Illness, Comorbidities
- Being tested
- ACP Education, Usual care
- Medical subject headings
- Chronic Disease
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
ACP EducationBehavioural
Decision aid and Goals of Care Designation form information administered by Navigator
Usual careOther
Usual care includes reviewing Goals of Care Designation form and Greensleeve with physician
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| ACP Education | Experimental | Eligible patients in the experimental group will receive an educational intervention from an advance care planning navigator consisting of a 4-item values tool, a Goals of Care Designation form and, if applicable, watch a cardiopulmonary resuscitation video. Receives: Behavioral: ACP Education; Other: Usual care |
| Usual care | Active comparator | Patients in the usual care group will complete a Goals of Care Designation form with the family physician. Receives: Other: Usual care |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Presence of a completed goals of care designation form in the patient chart
In Alberta there is a form in the health care system that is used to indicate a person's wishes if they are unable to speak for themselves. The form is called a "Goal of Care Designation" form and is part of a package called the 'Greensleeve'. Alberta Health Services requires that all patients in primary care and in hospital have a green sleeve and goal of care designation (RMC classification: R=resuscitative; M=medical; C=comfort care).
Measured: 8-12 weeks
Secondary outcomes (3)
Agreement between patient's self-reported values and preferences for life sustaining treatment, and what is documented in the form in the chart
Dichotomous variable of whether there is concordance between what the patient reports and what is in their chart (difference between groups)
Measured: 8-12 weeks
Physician rating of decisional conflict
The decisional conflict scale (DCS) measures personal perceptions of uncertainty in choosing options;modifiable factors contributing to uncertainty such as feeling uninformed, unclear about personal values and unsupported in decision making; and effective decision making. The outcome is the agreement between patient's self-reported preference for life sustaining treatment and decisional conflict using a 5-item decisional conflict scale pre- and post-intervention. Each item is scored 0 to 4 (0=Yes; 1=Probably Yes; 2=Unsure; 3=Probably No; 4=No)
Measured: 8-12 weeks
Patient-reported satisfaction with the intervention
Do patients who participate in an ACP educational intervention experience greater satisfaction with decision-making than patients who get usual care?
Measured: 8-12 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted15 Feb 2018
- Study start20 Oct 2017
- Primary completion26 Sep 2018
- Study completion31 Dec 2018
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (21)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Chronic IllnessStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by McMaster UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 120 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- McMaster University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Queen's University
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Michelle Howard, PHD, Principal investigator, McMaster UniversityDaren K Heyland, MD, Principal investigator, Queen's University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03434626
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 06-17
- Status last verified
- Jun 2019
- First submitted
- 1 Aug 2017
- Last updated
- 19 Jun 2019
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Ehlenbach WJ, Barnato AE, Curtis JR, Kreuter W, Koepsell TD, Deyo RA, Stapleton RD. Epidemiologic study of in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the elderly. N Engl J Med. 2009 Jul 2;361(1):22-31. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0810245.
PubMed 19571280Heyland DK, Lavery JV, Tranmer JE, Shortt SE, Taylor SJ. Dying in Canada: is it an institutionalized, technologically supported experience? J Palliat Care. 2000 Oct;16 Suppl:S10-6.
PubMed 11075528Gruneir A, Mor V, Weitzen S, Truchil R, Teno J, Roy J. Where people die: a multilevel approach to understanding influences on site of death in America. Med Care Res Rev. 2007 Aug;64(4):351-78. doi: 10.1177/1077558707301810.
PubMed 17684107Cook D, Rocker G, Marshall J, Sjokvist P, Dodek P, Griffith L, Freitag A, Varon J, Bradley C, Levy M, Finfer S, Hamielec C, McMullin J, Weaver B, Walter S, Guyatt G; Level of Care Study Investigators and the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group. Withdrawal of mechanical ventilation in anticipation of death in the intensive care unit. N Engl J Med. 2003 Sep 18;349(12):1123-32. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa030083.
PubMed 13679526Heyland DK, Barwich D, Pichora D, Dodek P, Lamontagne F, You JJ, Tayler C, Porterfield P, Sinuff T, Simon J; ACCEPT (Advance Care Planning Evaluation in Elderly Patients) Study Team; Canadian Researchers at the End of Life Network (CARENET). Failure to engage hospitalized elderly patients and their families in advance care planning. JAMA Intern Med. 2013 May 13;173(9):778-87. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.180.
PubMed 23545563You JJ, Dodek P, Lamontagne F, Downar J, Sinuff T, Jiang X, Day AG, Heyland DK; ACCEPT Study Team and the Canadian Researchers at the End of Life Network (CARENET). What really matters in end-of-life discussions? Perspectives of patients in hospital with serious illness and their families. CMAJ. 2014 Dec 9;186(18):E679-87. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.140673. Epub 2014 Nov 3.
PubMed 25367427Heyland DK, Ilan R, Jiang X, You JJ, Dodek P. The prevalence of medical error related to end-of-life communication in Canadian hospitals: results of a multicentre observational study. BMJ Qual Saf. 2016 Sep;25(9):671-9. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004567. Epub 2015 Nov 9.
PubMed 26554026Fried TR, Redding CA, Robbins ML, O'Leary JR, Iannone L. Agreement between older persons and their surrogate decision-makers regarding participation in advance care planning. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011 Jun;59(6):1105-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03412.x. Epub 2011 Jun 7.
PubMed 21649619Raymont V, Bingley W, Buchanan A, David AS, Hayward P, Wessely S, Hotopf M. Prevalence of mental incapacity in medical inpatients and associated risk factors: cross-sectional study. Lancet. 2004 Oct 16-22;364(9443):1421-7. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17224-3.
PubMed 15488217Silveira MJ, Kim SY, Langa KM. Advance directives and outcomes of surrogate decision making before death. N Engl J Med. 2010 Apr 1;362(13):1211-8. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa0907901.
PubMed 20357283Hammes BJ, Rooney BL. Death and end-of-life planning in one midwestern community. Arch Intern Med. 1998 Feb 23;158(4):383-90. doi: 10.1001/archinte.158.4.383.
PubMed 9487236Detering KM, Hancock AD, Reade MC, Silvester W. The impact of advance care planning on end of life care in elderly patients: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2010 Mar 23;340:c1345. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c1345.
PubMed 20332506Teno JM, Fisher ES, Hamel MB, Coppola K, Dawson NV. Medical care inconsistent with patients' treatment goals: association with 1-year Medicare resource use and survival. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002 Mar;50(3):496-500. doi: 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50116.x.
PubMed 11943046Houben CHM, Spruit MA, Groenen MTJ, Wouters EFM, Janssen DJA. Efficacy of advance care planning: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2014 Jul;15(7):477-489. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2014.01.008. Epub 2014 Mar 2.
PubMed 24598477Sudore RL, Lum HD, You JJ, Hanson LC, Meier DE, Pantilat SZ, Matlock DD, Rietjens JAC, Korfage IJ, Ritchie CS, Kutner JS, Teno JM, Thomas J, McMahan RD, Heyland DK. Defining Advance Care Planning for Adults: A Consensus Definition From a Multidisciplinary Delphi Panel. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017 May;53(5):821-832.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.12.331. Epub 2017 Jan 3.
PubMed 28062339
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Jun 2019. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Randomized Trial of ACP/GCD Care Pathway in Primary Care in Alberta
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03434626
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 06-17
- Conditions
- Chronic Illness, Comorbidities
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 120 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- McMaster UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Queen's University
- Study start
- 20 Oct 2017 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 26 Sep 2018 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2018 (actual)
- First posted
- 15 Feb 2018 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Sometimes people with health conditions become ill suddenly and can no longer speak for themselves and another person (such as a family member) will make health care decisions for them. This means it is important for people to think about their wishes and tell others about them. This is called advance care planning. When people have done advance care planning, if they become very sick and cannot speak for themselves they are more likely to get the kind of health care they want and it is easier for the people who make decisions for them. In Alberta, there is a form in the health care system that is used to indicate a person's wishes if participants are unable to speak for themselves. There are tools such as brochures, questionnaires, and videos that can help participants learn about advance care planning and serious illness conversations. This research is being done to study whether using tools for advance care planning will help improve goals of care designation completion rates in such a way that they better reflect patient values. In this project, we aim to determine the efficacy of tools to increase the quality and quantity of advance care planning (ACP) and Goals of Care Determinations (GCD) in primary care settings in Alberta.
Detailed description
In prospective and randomized trials, advance care planning (ACP) significantly improves outcomes including increased likelihood that clinicians and families understand and comply with a patient's wishes, reduces hospitalization at the end of life, results in less intensive treatments at the end of life (according to patients' wishes) and increases use of hospice services. Trials have not been done in primary care. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of a care pathway designed to increase the quality and quantity of ACP in patients and their substitute decision-makers in primary care. The study is a multi-site, patient-based, unblinded, randomized trial conducted in family practices in Canada. Participants will be patients who are determined by their physician to be able to benefit from ACP, and the patient's substitute decision-maker. Participant pairs will be randomized to immediate intervention (care pathway) or delayed (8-12 weeks). The intervention is guided use of tools and decision aids to clarify values and preferences for treatments in the event of serious illness or near end of life. The outcomes will be presence of a goals of care form in the chart, substitute decision-maker engagement in ACP (including self-efficacy for enacting the role), patient engagement in ACP, and decisional conflict.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| ACP Education | Experimental | Behavioral: ACP Education, Other: Usual careEligible patients in the experimental group will receive an educational intervention from an advance care planning navigator consisting of a 4-item values tool, a Goals of Care Designation form and, if applicable, watch a cardiopulmonary resuscitation video. |
| Usual care | Active comparator | Other: Usual carePatients in the usual care group will complete a Goals of Care Designation form with the family physician. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 65 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- age 65 years or older
- have at least one chronic condition that may be life-limiting
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Unable to communicate with an English-speaking research coordinator
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| ACP EducationDecision aid and Goals of Care Designation form information administered by Navigator | Behavioural | ACP Education |
| Usual careUsual care includes reviewing Goals of Care Designation form and Greensleeve with physician | Other | ACP Education, Usual care |
Primary outcome
Presence of a completed goals of care designation form in the patient chart
Time frame: 8-12 weeks
In Alberta there is a form in the health care system that is used to indicate a person's wishes if they are unable to speak for themselves. The form is called a "Goal of Care Designation" form and is part of a package called the 'Greensleeve'. Alberta Health Services requires that all patients in primary care and in hospital have a green sleeve and goal of care designation (RMC classification: R=resuscitative; M=medical; C=comfort care).
3 secondary outcomes
Agreement between patient's self-reported values and preferences for life sustaining treatment, and what is documented in the form in the chart
Time frame: 8-12 weeks
Physician rating of decisional conflict
Time frame: 8-12 weeks
Patient-reported satisfaction with the intervention
Time frame: 8-12 weeks
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 19 Jun 2019.
- Results publication: PubMed 19571280Ehlenbach WJ, Barnato AE, Curtis JR, Kreuter W, Koepsell TD, Deyo RA, Stapleton RD. Epidemiologic study of in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the elderly. N Engl J Med. 2009 Jul 2;361(1):22-31. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0810245.
- Results publication: PubMed 11075528Heyland DK, Lavery JV, Tranmer JE, Shortt SE, Taylor SJ. Dying in Canada: is it an institutionalized, technologically supported experience? J Palliat Care. 2000 Oct;16 Suppl:S10-6.
- Results publication: PubMed 17684107Gruneir A, Mor V, Weitzen S, Truchil R, Teno J, Roy J. Where people die: a multilevel approach to understanding influences on site of death in America. Med Care Res Rev. 2007 Aug;64(4):351-78. doi: 10.1177/1077558707301810.
- Results publication: PubMed 13679526Cook D, Rocker G, Marshall J, Sjokvist P, Dodek P, Griffith L, Freitag A, Varon J, Bradley C, Levy M, Finfer S, Hamielec C, McMullin J, Weaver B, Walter S, Guyatt G; Level of Care Study Investigators and the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group. Withdrawal of mechanical ventilation in anticipation of death in the intensive care unit. N Engl J Med. 2003 Sep 18;349(12):1123-32. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa030083.
- Results publication: PubMed 23545563Heyland DK, Barwich D, Pichora D, Dodek P, Lamontagne F, You JJ, Tayler C, Porterfield P, Sinuff T, Simon J; ACCEPT (Advance Care Planning Evaluation in Elderly Patients) Study Team; Canadian Researchers at the End of Life Network (CARENET). Failure to engage hospitalized elderly patients and their families in advance care planning. JAMA Intern Med. 2013 May 13;173(9):778-87. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.180.
- Results publication: PubMed 25367427You JJ, Dodek P, Lamontagne F, Downar J, Sinuff T, Jiang X, Day AG, Heyland DK; ACCEPT Study Team and the Canadian Researchers at the End of Life Network (CARENET). What really matters in end-of-life discussions? Perspectives of patients in hospital with serious illness and their families. CMAJ. 2014 Dec 9;186(18):E679-87. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.140673. Epub 2014 Nov 3.
- Results publication: PubMed 26554026Heyland DK, Ilan R, Jiang X, You JJ, Dodek P. The prevalence of medical error related to end-of-life communication in Canadian hospitals: results of a multicentre observational study. BMJ Qual Saf. 2016 Sep;25(9):671-9. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004567. Epub 2015 Nov 9.
- Results publication: PubMed 21649619Fried TR, Redding CA, Robbins ML, O'Leary JR, Iannone L. Agreement between older persons and their surrogate decision-makers regarding participation in advance care planning. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011 Jun;59(6):1105-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03412.x. Epub 2011 Jun 7.
- Results publication: PubMed 15488217Raymont V, Bingley W, Buchanan A, David AS, Hayward P, Wessely S, Hotopf M. Prevalence of mental incapacity in medical inpatients and associated risk factors: cross-sectional study. Lancet. 2004 Oct 16-22;364(9443):1421-7. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17224-3.
- Results publication: PubMed 20357283Silveira MJ, Kim SY, Langa KM. Advance directives and outcomes of surrogate decision making before death. N Engl J Med. 2010 Apr 1;362(13):1211-8. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa0907901.
- Results publication: PubMed 9487236Hammes BJ, Rooney BL. Death and end-of-life planning in one midwestern community. Arch Intern Med. 1998 Feb 23;158(4):383-90. doi: 10.1001/archinte.158.4.383.
- Results publication: PubMed 20332506Detering KM, Hancock AD, Reade MC, Silvester W. The impact of advance care planning on end of life care in elderly patients: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2010 Mar 23;340:c1345. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c1345.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Michelle Howard, PHD principal investigator
McMaster University
Daren K Heyland, MD principal investigator
Queen's University
2 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing ACP Education in people with Chronic Illness and Comorbidities, run by McMaster University at 2 sites in Canada.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 Jun 2019. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 2 sites in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Presence of a completed goals of care designation form in the patient chart (time frame: 8-12 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03434626, which also lists 21 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 19 Jun 2019.