Palliative Care Educator

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Advance Care Planning, Palliative Care, Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias, Doctor-patient Communication, Video Decision Aids

In brief

The investigators propose to conduct a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial of an advance care planning (ACP) educator-led intervention among hospitalized patients aged 65 and over, or any patient with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) and their proxy decision-makers in the ward and ICU settings of two major hospitals: Boston Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital in New York. Patient outcomes will be abstracted from electronic health records with Natural Language Processing. The effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated by comparing the following outcomes among 9,000 hospitalized patients (Aim 1): ACP documentation; preferences for resuscitation; palliative care consults; and, hospice use. The investigators will characterize caregiver-centered outcomes of patients with ADRD, including (Aim 2): (1) knowledge, (2) confidence in future care, (3) communication satisfaction, and (4) decisional certainty in 600 caregivers of patients with ADRD admitted to the hospital. COVID-19 poses a unique dilemma for older Americans and patients with ADRD and their caregivers, who must balance their desire to live against the risk of a lonely and potentially traumatic hospital death. Video decision support is a practical, evidence-based, and innovative approach to assist patients facing such choices. If proven effective, this innovative care model can be immediately deployed across the country to improve the quality of care for millions of Americans.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT04857060
Run by
Tufts Medical Center
People needed
11174
Starts
2021-07-01
Expected to finish
2022-10-31
Last updated by the study team
2026-01-12

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may not qualify if…

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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