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DISCO App for Cancer Costs (DISCO Trial)

N/A

Recruiting

Led By Lauren Hamel, PhD

Research Sponsored by Lauren Hamel

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Be older than 18 years old

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up 1 month after the video-recorded patient-physician interaction

Awards & highlights

No Placebo-Only Group

Summary

This trial seeks to improve patient outcomes by increasing active participation and knowledge around treatment costs, as well as self-efficacy for managing interactions with physicians.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for English-reading and writing patients with new diagnoses of breast, prostate, lung, or colorectal cancer at Karmanos Cancer Institute. They should be likely to receive systemic therapy and have an email account. Oncologists treating these cancers can also participate.

What is being tested?

The DISCO App aims to help patients discuss treatment costs with oncologists and manage financial aspects of care. The study compares usual care (Group 1) against the app alone (Group 2) and the app with additional support (Group 3).

What are the potential side effects?

Since this intervention involves an application designed to facilitate communication rather than a drug or medical procedure, traditional physical side effects are not expected.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ 1 month after the video-recorded patient-physician interaction

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~1 month after the video-recorded patient-physician interaction

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and 1 month after the video-recorded patient-physician interaction for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary study objectives

Knowledge of types of treatment cost An example item from the original measure: Cancer treatment may cost me in the following ways? Data will be aggregated using frequency counts.

Patient self-report of level of satisfaction with any treatment cost discussions with physician assessed via an original scale: satisfaction with any treatment cost discussed with the physician that occurred.

Patient-Centered Communication scale. The observed quality of patient-physician communication assessed a validated coding system. Minimum = 1; Maximum =5; higher is a better outcome

+5 more

Secondary study objectives

Clinical appointment adherence. The rate of appointments a patient is scheduled for and attends.

Financial toxicity

Follow up with social work/financial navigator

+4 more

Other study objectives

Assessment of the intervention booster An example item from the original measure: The reminder email or text message was helpful with my cost questions and concerns.

Assessment of the intervention.

Intervention presence in video-recorded patient-physician interaction

Awards & Highlights

No Placebo-Only Group

All patients enrolled in this study will receive some form of active treatment.

Trial Design

3Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Group I: Group 3: The DISCO App + BoosterExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

The patient will be asked to arrive 30 minutes early to their next scheduled appointment with their oncologist so they can complete a survey. The patient will be shown an iPad with an "app" while waiting to see your oncologist. The app includes a short video and asks questions about your financial concerns. The app will give the patient a list of questions they may want to ask their oncologist during their appointment. The patient will then meet with their oncologist. The meeting with their oncologist will be video recorded. The oncologist has agreed to be video recorded. Immediately after meeting their oncologist, they will complete another brief survey. The questions will ask about how the meeting went and what they thought of the app. The patient's meeting with the oncologist will not be delayed or changed in any way because of this study. Two months after that appointment, the patient will be sent a reminder of the information that was presented on the app.

Group II: Group 2: The DISCO AppExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

The patient will be asked to arrive 30 minutes early to their next scheduled appointment with their oncologist so they can complete a survey. The patient will be shown an iPad with an "app" while waiting to see their oncologist. The app includes a short video and asks questions about the patient's financial concerns. The app will give the patient a list of questions the patient may want to ask their oncologist during their appointment. The patient will then meet with their oncologist. The meeting with the patient's oncologist will be video recorded. The oncologist has agreed to be video recorded. Immediately after meeting the oncologist, the patient will complete another brief survey. The questions will ask about how the meeting went and what the patient thought of the app. The meeting with the oncologist will not be delayed or changed in any way because of this study.

Group III: Group 1: Usual CareExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

The patient will be asked to arrive 30 minutes early to their next scheduled appointment with their oncologist so they can complete a survey. The patient will be video recorded at their appointment. The oncologist has agreed to be video recorded. Immediately after this appointment, the patient will be asked to complete another brief survey that takes about 20 minutes. The questions will ask about how the meeting went. The patient's meeting with the oncologist will not be delayed or changed in any way because of this study.

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