Effect of a Website Offering Individual Patients' Experiences for Cancer Patients (DIPExRCT)

Berlin School of Public Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Colorectal Cancer

Treatments: Other: Website access

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02157454

NKP-332-041

Details and patient eligibility

About

Being diagnosed with cancer confronts patients with a severe disease and they need to learn to deal with a range of new challenges. In order to support patients in the coping process, the website www.krankheitserfahrungen.de provides patients free, reliable information about health issues by sharing peoples' real-life experiences. In our project, the investigators developed a new module on the website for patients with colorectal cancer.

The objective of our study is to evaluate if access to the new colorectal cancer module on the website www.krankheitserfahrungen.de increases patient's competence.

The investigators will conduct a two-arm randomized controlled trial. Patients affected by colorectal cancer will be randomized into an intervention and a control group: the intervention group will have access for two weeks to the website www.krankheitserfahrungen.de (colorectal cancer module) with cancer patients´ experiences. Patients in the control group will not receive any intervention but will have access to the website for two weeks after completing the study.

Patient competence is measured by the self-efficacy component of the German short form of the Cancer Behavior Inventory via an online questionnaire at baseline and after two weeks. A second follow-up assessment will be implemented six weeks after baseline.

Enrollment: 212 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer within the last 3 years or with metastases or relapse after colorectal cancer
• having access to internet

Exclusion criteria

• Patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer more than 3 years ago and without metastases or relapse

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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212 participants in 2 patient groups

Website access

Experimental group

Description:

Two-week access to the colorectal cancer module of the website www.krankheitserfahrungen.de

Treatment:

Other: Website access

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants who are randomized to the control group don't have access to the website until they have finished the last questionnaire at 6 weeks follow up.