RCT Regarding SDM Online Training and Face-to-face SDM Training

University Hospital Heidelberg

Status: Completed

Conditions: Doctor-Patient-Communication

Treatments: Behavioral: SDM Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02674360

DKH109956, DKH110010

Details and patient eligibility

About

Cancer patients often report that they are not included in important treatment decisions. Numerous studies have shown that a training concerning Shared Decision Making (SDM) for physicians can improve this situation. This does not only lead to a better quality of the doctor-patient interaction, but may have a positive long term impact on treatment adherence, the psychological well-being and the coping abilities of the patients. However, previous experience regarding the implementation of SDM training programs show that it is difficult to recruit physicians for an external SDM group training due to the extensive workload of the physicians. In light of the available evidence on the effectiveness of SDM training and the low motivation by oncologists for traditional SDM group training, this study aims to develop and evaluate a brief SDM intervention. This intervention is disseminated in two different ways which both might be attractive for oncologists. On the one hand an individual face-to-face context-based SDM training is designed and conducted by a trainer at the workplace of the participating oncologists. On the other hand a web-based SDM online training is developed. Both SDM interventions are developed on the basis of an SDM manual evaluated in previous studies.

This study therefore aims to examine the effectiveness of different disseminations strategies (individualized face-to-face context-based SDM individual training vs. web-based SDM online training) compared to a control group without any training. It will be analyzed which improvements in medical SDM competence can be accomplished by the different SDM trainings. Further the effects of the training on SDM knowledge, quality of the doctor-patient interaction and SDM self-efficacy expectation will be evaluated.

Enrollment: 161 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Oncologists or physicians treating a significant percentage of breast and/or colorectal cancer patients
2. Internet access

Exclusion criteria

• No Exclusion Criteria

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

161 participants in 3 patient groups

SDM Online Training

Active Comparator group

Description:

The intervention consists of a SDM training for oncologists, which is conducted in the form of a web-based SDM online Training (intervention group I). During training, the oncologists are guided to use decision aids for breast and colon cancer patients in their consultations, which were developed and evaluated in a previous project. The SDM training has the same duration (one session à 120 minutes) in both intervention groups. Doctors in the intervention group receive decision aids for breast cancer and colorectal cancer patients during training. The training contents are based on an already developed, evaluated and published SDM manual. The SDM online training works on the modeling principle.

Treatment:

Behavioral: SDM Training

Face-to-Face SDM Training

Active Comparator group

Description:

The intervention consists of a SDM training for oncologists, which is conducted in the form of an individualized, context-based SDM individual face-to-face training at the workplace of the participants (intervention group II). During training, the oncologists are guided to use decision aids for breast and colon cancer patients in their consultations, which were developed and evaluated in a previous project. The SDM training has the same duration (one session à 120 minutes) in both intervention groups. Doctors in the intervention group receive decision aids for breast cancer and colorectal cancer patients during training. The training contents are based on an already developed, evaluated and published SDM manual. The individual training works on the coaching principle.

Treatment:

Behavioral: SDM Training

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

The Control Group receives no SDM Training. All participants of the Control Group will be offered to participate in the SDM Online Training after T2.