31. Advance care planning in patients with advanced cancer : a 6-country, cluster-randomised clinical trialIda Joanna Korfage, Giulia Carreras, Caroline M. Arnfeldt Christiansen, Pascalle Billekens, Louise Bramley, Linda Briggs, Francesco Bulli, Glenys Caswell, Branka Červ, Johannes JM van Delden, Hana Kodba Čeh, Urška Lunder, Alenka Mimič, Polona Ozbič, Anja Simonič, 2020, review article Abstract: Background. Advance care planning (ACP) supports individuals to define, discuss, and record goals and preferences for future medical treatment and care. Despite being internationally recommended, randomised clinical trials of ACP in patients with advanced cancer are scarce. Methods and findings. To test the implementation of ACP in patients with advanced cancer, we conducted a cluster-randomised trial in 23 hospitals across Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, and United Kingdom in 2015–2018. Patients with advanced lung (stage III/IV) or colorectal (stage IV) cancer, WHO performance status 0–3, and at least 3 months life expectancy were eligible. The ACTION Respecting Choices ACP intervention as offered to patients in the intervention arm included scripted ACP conversations between patients, family members, and certified facilitators; standardised leaflets; and standardised advance directives. Control patients received care as usual. Main outcome measures were quality of life (operationalised as European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC] emotional functioning) and symptoms. Secondary outcomes were coping, patient satisfaction, shared decision-making, patient involvement in decision-making, inclusion of advance directives (ADs) in hospital files, and use of hospital care. In all, 1,117 patients were included (442 intervention; 675 control), and 809 (72%) completed the 12-week questionnaire. Patients’ age ranged from 18 to 91 years, with a mean of 66; 39% were female. The mean number of ACP conversations per patient was 1.3. Fidelity was 86%. Sixteen percent of patients found ACP conversations distressing. Mean change in patients’ quality of life did not differ between intervention and control groups (T-score −1.8 versus −0.8, p = 0.59), nor did changes in symptoms, coping, patient satisfaction, and shared decision-making. Specialist palliative care (37% versus 27%, p = 0.002) and AD inclusion in hospital files (10% versus 3%, p < 0.001) were more likely in the intervention group. A key limitation of the study is that recruitment rates were lower in intervention than in control hospitals. Conclusions. Our results show that quality of life effects were not different between patients who had ACP conversations and those who received usual care. The increased use of specialist palliative care and AD inclusion in hospital files of intervention patients is meaningful and requires further study. Our findings suggest that alternative approaches to support patient-centred end-of-life care in this population are needed.
Keywords: advanced care planning, medical treatment, advanced cancer, palliative care
Published in DiRROS: 14.12.2020; Views: 1348; Downloads: 1289
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32. Trained facilitators' experiences with structured advance care planning conversations in oncology : an international focus group study within the ACTION trialK. Pollock, Marieke Zwakman, Francesco Bulli, Glenys Caswell, Branka Červ, Johannes JM van Delden, Luc Deliens, Agnes van der Heide, Lea J. Jabbarian, Hana Kodba Čeh, Urška Lunder, Anja Simonič, 2019, original scientific article Abstract: Background: In oncology, health care professionals often experience conducting advance care planning (ACP) conversations as difficult and are hesitant to start them. A structured approach could help to overcome this. In the ACTION trial, a Phase III multi-center cluster-randomized clinical trial in six European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, United Kingdom), patients with advanced lung or colorectal cancer are invited to have one or two structured ACP conversations with a trained facilitator. It is unclear how trained facilitators experience conducting structured ACP conversations. This study aims to understand how facilitators experience delivering the ACTION Respecting Choices (RC) ACP conversation. Methods: A qualitative study involving focus groups with RC facilitators. Focus group interviews were recorded, transcribed, anonymized, translated into English, and thematically analysed, supported by NVivo 11. The international research team was involved in data analysis from initial coding and discussion towards final themes. Results: Seven focus groups were conducted, involving 28 of in total 39 trained facilitators, with different professional backgrounds from all participating countries. Alongside some cultural differences, six themes were identified. These reflect that most facilitators welcomed the opportunity to participate in the ACTION trial, seeing it as a means of learning new skills in an important area. The RC script was seen as supportive to ask questions, including those perceived as difficult to ask, but was also experienced as a barrier to a spontaneous conversation. Facilitators noticed that most patients were positive about their ACTION RC ACP conversation, which had prompted them to become aware of their wishes and to share these with others. The facilitators observed that it took patients substantial effort to have these conversations. In response, facilitators took responsibility for enabling patients to experience a conversation from which they could benefit. Facilitators emphasized the need for training, support and advanced communication skills to be able to work with the script. Conclusions: Facilitators experienced benefits and challenges in conducting scripted ACP conversations. They mentioned the importance of being skilled and experienced in carrying out ACP conversations in order to be able to explore the patients' preferences while staying attuned to patients' needs.
Keywords: ACTION study, cancer, facilitator, patients, respecting choices, experience
Published in DiRROS: 23.09.2020; Views: 1322; Downloads: 919
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35. Coping strategies of patients with advanced lung or colorectal cancer in six European countries : insights from the ACTION studyLea J. Jabbarian, Ida Joanna Korfage, Branka Červ, Johannes JM van Delden, Luc Deliens, Guido Miccinesi, Sheila Payne, Anna Thit Johnsen, Mariette Verkissen, Andrew Wilcock, Agnes van der Heide, Judith Anna Catharina Rietjens, 2020, review article Abstract: Objective: Even when medical treatments are limited, supporting patients' coping strategies could improve their quality of life. Greater understanding of patients' coping strategies, and influencing factors, can aid developing such support. We examined the prevalence of coping strategies and associated variables. Methods: We used sociodemographic and baseline data from the ACTION trial, including measures of Denial, Acceptance and Problem-focused coping (COPE; Brief COPE inventory), of patients with advanced cancer from six European countries. Clinicians provided clinical information. Linear mixed models with clustering at hospital level were used. Results: Data from 675 patients with stage III/ IV lung (342, 51%) or stage IV colorectal (333, 49%) cancer were used; mean age 66 (10 SD) years. Overall, patients scored low on Denial and high on Acceptance and Problem-focused coping. Older age was associated with higher scores on Denial than younger age ([beta] = 0.05; CI[0.023; 0.074]), and patients from Italy ([beta] = 1.57 CI[0.760; 2.388]) and Denmark ([beta] = 1.82 CI[0.881; 2.750]) scored higher on Denial than patients in other countries. Conclusions: Patients with advanced cancer predominantly used Acceptance and Problem-focused coping, and Denial to a lesser extent. Since the studied coping strategies of patients with advanced cancer vary between subpopulations, we recommend taking these factors into account when developing tailored interventions to support patients' coping strategies.
Keywords: ACTION study, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, coping strategies
Published in DiRROS: 29.07.2020; Views: 1689; Downloads: 1136
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