No abstract

Background Cancer patients and their oncologists often report differing perceptions of consultation discussions and discordant expectations regarding treatment outcomes. CONNECT™, a computer-based communication aid, was developed to improve communication between patients and oncologists. Methods CONNECT includes assessment of patient values, goals, and communication preferences; patient communication skills training; and a pre-consult physician summary report. CONNECT was tested in a three-arm, prospective, randomized clinical trial. Prior to the initial medical oncology consultation, adult patients with advanced cancer were randomized to (a) control; (b) CONNECT with physician summary, or (c) CONNECT without physician summary. Outcomes were assessed with post-consultation surveys. Results Of 743 patients randomized, 629 completed post-consultation surveys. Patients in the intervention arms (versus control) felt that the CONNECT program made treatment decisions easier to reach (p=0.003) and helped them to be more satisfied with these decisions (p<0.001). In addition, patients in the intervention arms reported higher levels of satisfaction with physician communication format (p=0.026) and discussion regarding support services (p=0.029) and quality of life concerns (p=0.042). The physician summary did not impact outcomes. Patients with higher levels of education and poorer physical functioning experienced greater benefit from CONNECT. Conclusion This prospective randomized clinical trial demonstrates that computer-based communication skills training can positively affect patient satisfaction with communication and decision making. Measureable patient characteristics may be used to identify subgroups most likely to benefit from an intervention such as CONNECT.

Purpose Lack of knowledge and negative attitudes have been identified as barriers to participation in clinical trials by patients with cancer. We developed Preparatory Education About Clinical Trials (PRE-ACT), a theory-guided, Web-based, interactive computer program, to deliver tailored video educational content to patients in an effort to overcome barriers to considering clinical trials as a treatment option. Patients and Methods A prospective, randomized clinical trial compared PRE-ACT with a control condition that provided general clinical trials information produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in text format. One thousand two hundred fifty-five patients with cancer were randomly allocated before their initial visit with an oncologist to PRE-ACT (n = 623) or control (n = 632). PRE-ACT had three main components: assessment of clinical trials knowledge and attitudinal barriers, values assessment with clarification back to patients, and provision of a video library tailored to address each patient’s barriers. Outcomes included knowledge and attitudes and preparation for decision making about clinical trials. Results Both PRE-ACT and control interventions improved knowledge and attitudes (all P < .001) compared with baseline. Patients randomly allocated to PRE-ACT showed a significantly greater increase in knowledge (P < .001) and a significantly greater decrease in attitudinal barriers (P < .001) than did their control (text-only) counterparts. Participants in both arms significantly increased their preparedness to consider clinical trials (P < .001), and there was a trend favoring the PRE-ACT group (P < .09). PRE-ACT was also associated with greater patient satisfaction than was NCI text alone. Conclusion These data show that patient education before the first oncologist visit improves knowledge, attitudes, and preparation for decision making about clinical trials. Both text and tailored video were effective. The PRE-ACT interactive video program was more effective than NCI text in improving knowledge and reducing attitudinal barriers.