Promoting Informed Decisions About Cancer Screening in Older Adults

Summary

This project aims to examine the impact of different interventions designed to help individualize colorectal cancer (CRC) screening decisions in adults aged 76-85. Clinicians will be assigned by chance to one of two arms. In the Intervention arm, clinician participants will complete a training course and will also be notified of patients in the target age group who are due for a discussion about CRC screening. In the Comparator arm, clinician participants will be notified of their patients in the target age group with an upcoming visit who are due for a discussion about CRC screening. The investigators expect that patients seen by clinicians in the intervention arm will report more involvement in the decision making process, be more knowledgeable about the risks and benefits of CRC screening, and will have better quality decisions. Further, the investigators expect that the physicians in the intervention arm will have greater confidence in and demonstrate more skills for conducting shared decision making conversations as compared to those in the control arm.

Conditions

• Colorectal Cancer Screening

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Notification

Clinicians will be notified of their patients aged 76-85 with an upcoming, non urgent visit who are due for colorectal cancer screening.

BEHAVIORAL

Training

The 2-hour continuing medical education course in shared decision making, simulated patient interaction to practice skills, and monthly calls for a year to review difficult cases with clinical and shared decision making experts.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• MaineHealth

  collaborator OTHER

• Brigham and Women's Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Newton-Wellesley Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• North Shore Medical Center

  collaborator OTHER

• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

  collaborator OTHER

• Massachusetts General Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Karen R Sepucha, PhD · Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)

• Leigh Simmons, MD · Massachusetts General Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-05-01

Primary Completion

2022-04-30

Completion

2022-08-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations