Geriatric Communication Skills Training Program for Oncology Clinicians

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to learn more about the effects of a training program designed to help doctors communicate better with older patients and their caregivers.

Official Title
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Geriatric Communication Skills Training Program for Oncology Clinicians to Improve Management of Care for Geriatrics Cancer Patients

Conditions
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GI Cancer, Lymphoma, GU Cancer, Bone Marrow Transplant

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Self-Efficacy Assessment
* Behavioral: UCLA Geriatrics Attitudes Scale
* Behavioral: Course Evaluations
* Behavioral: The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) questionnaire
* Behavioral: Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems Program (CAHPS)
* Behavioral: Patient activation measure (PAM) scale


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Clinician Eligibility MSK medical oncology Health Care Professionals (HCP) - specifically identified as Attendings, fellows, or Advance Practice Professional (APP) - either a Nurse Practitioner (NP) or Physician Assistant (PA) from GI, GU Oncology, Lymphoma, Bone Marrow Transplant or Geriatrics Service (five services with a large number of geriatric patients) Willingness to be audio-recorded as per self-report Clinician has individual clinic consultations with patients in the target population: 65 years of age and over, English speaking, and patients who have had a new visit within the last 6 months. Patient Eligibility MSK patients 65 years of age and over as per EMR English speaking as per EMR Being seen by one of the consented HCPs as per the HCP and/or electronic medical record (EMR) Willingness to be audio-recorded as per self-report Patient had their first visit with the clinician within the last 6 months Caregiver Eligibility English speaking as per EMR Accompanying an MSK patient being seen by one of the consented HCPs as per the HCP and/or EMR Exclusion Criteria: N/A

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: GI/GU/Lymphoma Oncologists<br>Doctors specializing in treating gastrointestinal cancer (cancer of the stomach, pancreas, colon, etc.), genitourinary cancer (cancer of the genitals and urinary tract), and lymphoma (cancer affecting the blood and lymph nodes) | Behavioral: Self-Efficacy Assessment<br>* Health Care Professional's self-efficacy will be assessed by 12 ratings of self-reported confidence from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree in module-specific topics both before and after the training.<br>Behavioral: UCLA Geriatrics Attitudes Scale<br>* The UCLA Geriatrics Attitudes Scale is a 14-item scale developed to assess health care providers' attitudes toward older persons and caring for older patients.<br>* Other names: Perceived Ageism;Behavioral: Course Evaluations<br>* The evaluation surveys for each of the three modules will contain fifteen statements assessing post-training attitudes regarding the skills learned and application of skills in oncology clinical practice, measured on a 5-point Likert scale.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Participants with GI/GU/Lymphoma Cancer<br>Patients of the physicians in group 1 | Behavioral: The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) questionnaire<br>* The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) questionnaire is a 10-item self-report scale that measures a patient's satisfaction with how empathic their health care providers (HCP) was within a specific consultation.<br>* Other names: Perceived Empathy;Behavioral: Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems Program (CAHPS)<br>* Patients perceptions of the quality of their interactions with their clinicians will be rated with 6 items from the Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems Program (CAHPS)<br>* Other names: Satisfaction with communication;Behavioral: Patient activation measure (PAM) scale<br>* The PAM scale contains 22 items that assess patient engagement in their care process.<br>* Other names: Patient Activation.;|
| Active Comparator: Caregivers of Participants with GI/GU/Lymphoma Cancer<br>Family members or caregivers of the patients in group 2 | Behavioral: The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) questionnaire<br>* The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) questionnaire is a 10-item self-report scale that measures a patient's satisfaction with how empathic their health care providers (HCP) was within a specific consultation.<br>* Other names: Perceived Empathy;Behavioral: Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems Program (CAHPS)<br>* Patients perceptions of the quality of their interactions with their clinicians will be rated with 6 items from the Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems Program (CAHPS)<br>* Other names: Satisfaction with communication;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Feasibility of Health Care Provider (HCP) training | Measured by number of HCP successfully recruited for the training | 8 weeks | 
| Participants satisfaction with Health Care Provider (HCP) training | Self-reported measure of satisfaction | 1 week |