DementiaI-HTCNCT07889830
Inpatient Hospice Transitions Checklist
A study testing I-HTC in people with Dementia, run by New York University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This is an NIH Stage IB single-arm feasibility study will adapt and test the Inpatient Hospice Transitions Checklist (I-HTC), an Epic-embedded intervention supporting hospice eligibility assessment and clinician-surrogate communication for hospitalized persons living with dementia. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Dementia
- What is being tested?
- I-HTC
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 150 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Dec 2026to 31 Jul 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
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 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Clinicians: Physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, or social workers practicing in acute care; participate in goals-of-care, advance care planning (ACP), hospice, or care transition discussions for hospitalized adults with dementia; and can complete study activities in English; and use the electronic health record for clinical documentation and patience care (EPIC)
- Surrogates: Adults aged =18 years identified as the legally authorized representative, healthcare proxy, or next of kin who participate in goals-of-care, ACP, or hospice-related discussions during hospitalization and can complete study communication in English.
- PLWD Inclusion Criteria: Adults aged ≥60 years admitted to an acute care inpatient service who lack decisional capacity, have an EHR-documented dementia diagnosis, are identified through the NYU Dementia Epic Registry from the ED-LEAD trial and a "No" response to the Mandatory Surprise Question ("Would you be surprised if this person were to die within the next 6 months?"), and have clinical circumstances prompting goals-of-care or hospice-related discussions.
Who cannot join
- Clinicians: Individuals who do not routinely participate in ACP, hospice, or care transition communication; decline or do not complete required training; or share responsibility for a patient encounter with an enrolled senior clinician.
- Surrogates: Not the primary decision-maker for the PLWD and unable to find or contact the LAR for consent
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site
NYU Langone Health
New York, New York, 10016
Komal P Murali, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, 2672055741, kp47@nyu.edu; komal.murali@nyulangone.org
About this study
Official title: Feasibility and Adaptation of a Hospice Transitions Checklist for Hospitalized Persons With Dementia
This is an NIH Stage IB single-arm feasibility study will adapt and test the Inpatient Hospice Transitions Checklist (I-HTC), an Epic-embedded intervention supporting hospice eligibility assessment and clinician-surrogate communication for hospitalized persons living with dementia.
Read the detailed description
This NIH Stage IB study will develop, adapt, and pilot test the Inpatient Hospice Transitions Checklist (I-HTC), an Epic-embedded intervention supporting hospice eligibility assessment and clinician-surrogate communication for hospitalized persons living with dementia aged 60 years and older at NYU Langone Health. The intervention includes a hospice eligibility guide, a structured communication checklist, and a clinician frequently asked questions guide. Three sequential components include surveys with approximately 30 interdisciplinary acute care clinicians to refine intervention content; training and usability testing with approximately 10 clinicians and advance care planning experts to refine the Epic build and workflow integration; and a single-arm feasibility pilot involving approximately 40 clinicians and 100-110 patient-surrogate dyads.
Component 1 will assess clinician preferences, current hospice transition workflows, and communication needs.
Component 2 will assess usability through the System Usability Scale and structured walkthroughs.
Component 3 will evaluate feasibility through checklist use, clinician activation, and EHR documentation fidelity, with additional assessments of usability, workflow integration, hospice enrollment, surrogate understanding of hospice, satisfaction, and communication quality.
- Conditions
- Dementia
- Being tested
- I-HTC
- Keywords
- surrogate decision-making
- Medical subject headings
- Dementia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
I-HTCBehavioural
The I-HTC intervention will include 1) hospice eligibility guide, 2) the I-HTC checklist for hospice communication, and 3) a frequently asked questions (FAQ) guide for clinicians.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Usual Care Arm | Experimental | Usual Care Arm: To be used by acute care clinicians with surrogates of eligible hospitalized persons living with dementia Receives: Behavioral: I-HTC |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Feasibility of the I-HTC Checklist EHR Intervention (Reported by Clinicians)
Frequency and proportion of I-HTC use during eligible encounters, clinician activation (accessing the I-HTC at least once), fidelity of ACP and hospice-related EHR documentation, and integration into clinical workflows.
Measured: Within 1 month of trial completion
Secondary outcomes (5)
Usability of the I-HTC Intervention as Reported by Clinicians
Usability: Clinician-reported ease of use and usability of the I-HTC, assessed using the System Usability Scale.
Measured: Within 1 month of intervention delivery to surrogate
Hospice enrollment of the PLWD
Proportion of participating PLWD who enroll in hospice, determined through EHR review.
Measured: Within 1 month of intervention receipt (PLWD-EHR data)
Surrogate understanding of hospice care
Brief questionnaire focused on surrogate-reported understanding of hospice services and their role in supporting the person living with dementia.
Measured: within 1 month of intervention receipt (surrogate)
Surrogate satisfaction
Satisfaction with care, assessed using the FAMCARE scale.
Measured: within 1 month of intervention receipt (surrogate)
Quality of communication as reported by the surrogate after receiving the I-HTC intervention
Quality of communication: Surrogate-reported quality of clinician-surrogate communication, assessed using the Quality of Communication questionnaire.
Measured: within 1 month of intervention receipt (surrogate)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted22 Oct 2026
- Study start1 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion30 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Jul 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for DementiaStudies 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
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 150 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- New York University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Aging (NIA), NYU Langone Health
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Komal Patel Murali,, New York University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07889830
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- s26-00690
- Other IDs
- U54AG093230
- Acronym
- I-HTC
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 15 Oct 2026
- Last updated
- 22 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: De-identified participant data will be shared with the ASCENT consortium but clinician data is not able to be shared.