SustainabilityNCT07505238
Informing Patients About Their Surgery's Environmental Impact: an Effective Pathway to Sustainable Healthcare?
A study testing Sustainability added to decision aid in people with Sustainability and Gallstone, run by University of Amsterdam at 1 site in Netherlands.
Trial summary
The healthcare sector contributes significantly to climate change. Reducing the number of patients receiving resource-intensive procedures such as surgery can lower carbon emissions, particularly when two treatments with comparable clinical outcomes are available. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age
- Conditions the study is for
- Sustainability, Gallstone, Decision Aid
- What is being tested?
- Sustainability added to decision aid
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 400 participants
- Where
- 1 siteNetherlands
- Study dates
- 1 Apr 2026to 1 Jul 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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 Any age
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Patients who were referred to three participating hospitals located across the Netherlands
- Patients who received PatientPlus' gallstone decision aid in preparation for their surgical consultation
Who cannot join
- None
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
The healthcare sector contributes significantly to climate change. Reducing the number of patients receiving resource-intensive procedures such as surgery can lower carbon emissions, particularly when two treatments with comparable clinical outcomes are available. Nevertheless, the impact of incorporating environmental considerations into patients' decision-making processes remains underexplored. The investigators examine how including information about the environmental impact of treatment options in a gallstone decision aid affects patients' real-life choice between surgery and the more sustainable alternative of conservative treatment. Moreover, the investigators examine whether factors such as severity of symptoms moderate the relation between sustainability information and patients' treatment choice. An exploratory vignette study informed the hypotheses that will be tested among actual patients with gallstones making actual treatment decisions. The results of this ecologically valid study have implications for both clinical practice and healthcare policy by offering insight into the effectiveness of pathways to include patients in the transition towards sustainable healthcare.
- Conditions
- Sustainability, Gallstone, Decision Aid, Decision Making ,Shared
- Being tested
- Sustainability added to decision aid
- Medical subject headings
- Gallstones
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Sustainability added to decision aidBehavioural
The intervention decision aid includes a page with information about the environmental impact of surgical removal of the gallbladder, and a control condition, which includes no such information. Besides information about the environmental impact of gallbladder surgery, the intervention and control conditions will be identical. At the end of the decision aid patients will be debriefed in general phrasing (i.e., the aim of this study was to examine which factors affect treatment choice) to prevent influencing the actual decision. Approximately three months after patients received the decision aid, patients will receive an invitation via the PatientPlus portal to complete a survey in which the investigators inquire about their final treatment decision (first reminder after one week, second reminder after two weeks). At the end of this survey, patients will be debriefed about the aim of examining how information about the environmental impact of surgery affects treatment choice.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention condition | Experimental | Intervention condition, in which a decision aid includes a page with information about the environmental impact of surgical removal of the gallbladder. Receives: Behavioral: Sustainability added to decision aid |
| Control condition | No intervention | A control condition, which includes no information on sustainability in the decision aid. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Treatment preference (surgery or wait-and-see)
The primary outcome is treatment preference. Specifically, participants will indicate their treatment preference by selecting either the option 'Surgery' or 'Wait and see' (dichotomous variable)
Measured: baseline, pre-intervention
Secondary outcomes (2)
Treatment certainty
Combination of treatment preference and certainty. Treatment certainty will be determined by answering the question 'How sure are you about what you want?' on a scale from 1 (Very uncertain) to 10 (Very certain). Treatment preference*certainty will be calculated after data collection by multiplying treatment preference (coded as 1 for surgery and -1 for wait and see thus no surgery) with treatment certainty, resulting in a scale from -10 (Very certain about choosing no surgery) to +10 (Very certain about choosing surgery). Adding this continuous measure allows for capturing more nuanced differences between the intervention and control conditions compared to dichotomous measures.
Measured: baseline, pre-intervention
Treatment decision
Secondary outcome is treatment decision (number of patients that choose surgery and number of patients that choose wait-and-see)
Measured: Assessment 3 months after the participants receive the decision aid
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted1 Apr 2026
- Study start1 Apr 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion1 Apr 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion1 Jul 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for SustainabilityStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- 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
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- This between-subject experimental study follows a design with an intervention condition, in which a decision aid includes a page with information about the environmental impact of surgical removal of the gallbladder, and a control condition, which includes no such information. Participants will be assigned to either the intervention or control condition without being informed about their experimental condition (assignment to conditions alters in blocks of 50 participants).
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 400 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Amsterdam
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Monique Chambon, University of Amsterdam
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07505238
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UvA-FMG-12737
- Other IDs
- KICH1.MV02.22.017
- Status last verified
- Mar 2026
- First submitted
- 20 Mar 2026
- Last updated
- 1 Apr 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 1 Apr 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Informing Patients About Their Surgery's Environmental Impact: an Effective Pathway to Sustainable Healthcare?
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07505238
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- UvA-FMG-12737
- Conditions
- Sustainability, Gallstone, Decision Aid, Decision Making ,Shared
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 400 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of AmsterdamUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Radboud University Medical Center, Leiden University Medical Center
- Study start
- 1 Apr 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 1 Apr 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 1 Jul 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 1 Apr 2026 (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.
The healthcare sector contributes significantly to climate change. Reducing the number of patients receiving resource-intensive procedures such as surgery can lower carbon emissions, particularly when two treatments with comparable clinical outcomes are available. Nevertheless, the impact of incorporating environmental considerations into patients' decision-making processes remains underexplored. The investigators examine how including information about the environmental impact of treatment options in a gallstone decision aid affects patients' real-life choice between surgery and the more sustainable alternative of conservative treatment. Moreover, the investigators examine whether factors such as severity of symptoms moderate the relation between sustainability information and patients' treatment choice. An exploratory vignette study informed the hypotheses that will be tested among actual patients with gallstones making actual treatment decisions. The results of this ecologically valid study have implications for both clinical practice and healthcare policy by offering insight into the effectiveness of pathways to include patients in the transition towards sustainable healthcare.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Triple blind (participant, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- This between-subject experimental study follows a design with an intervention condition, in which a decision aid includes a page with information about the environmental impact of surgical removal of the gallbladder, and a control condition, which includes no such information. Participants will be assigned to either the intervention or control condition without being informed about their experimental condition (assignment to conditions alters in blocks of 50 participants).
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention condition | Experimental | Behavioral: Sustainability added to decision aidIntervention condition, in which a decision aid includes a page with information about the environmental impact of surgical removal of the gallbladder. |
| Control condition | No intervention | –A control condition, which includes no information on sustainability in the decision aid. |
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Patients who were referred to three participating hospitals located across the Netherlands
- Patients who received PatientPlus' gallstone decision aid in preparation for their surgical consultation
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- None
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainability added to decision aidThe intervention decision aid includes a page with information about the environmental impact of surgical removal of the gallbladder, and a control condition, which includes no such information. Besides information about the environmental impact of gallbladder surgery, the intervention and control conditions will be identical. At the end of the decision aid patients will be debriefed in general phrasing (i.e., the aim of this study was to examine which factors affect treatment choice) to prevent influencing the actual decision. Approximately three months after patients received the decision aid, patients will receive an invitation via the PatientPlus portal to complete a survey in which the investigators inquire about their final treatment decision (first reminder after one week, second reminder after two weeks). At the end of this survey, patients will be debriefed about the aim of examining how information about the environmental impact of surgery affects treatment choice. | Behavioural | Intervention condition |
Primary outcome
Treatment preference (surgery or wait-and-see)
Time frame: baseline, pre-intervention
The primary outcome is treatment preference. Specifically, participants will indicate their treatment preference by selecting either the option 'Surgery' or 'Wait and see' (dichotomous variable)
2 secondary outcomes
Treatment certainty
Time frame: baseline, pre-intervention
Treatment decision
Time frame: Assessment 3 months after the participants receive the decision aid
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 1 Apr 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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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.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Sustainability added to decision aid in people with Sustainability and Gallstone, run by University of Amsterdam at 1 site in Netherlands.
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: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Apr 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Netherlands. 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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Monique Chambon, PhD (+31 (0)20 525 5340, m.chambon@uva.nl), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Treatment preference (surgery or wait-and-see) (time frame: baseline, pre-intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
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 1 Apr 2026.