N/A
Completed N=142
Palliative Care for Elderly Outpatients
Cancer Terminal
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03209440 ↗
Enrolled (actual)
142
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Apr 2024
Primary outcomePrimary: Dignity Impact Scale — 26.3; 26.2; 26.2 score on a scale — p=0.02
Summary
Our long-term goal is to improve spiritual care outcomes for elderly patients with cancer. The study team will use a spiritual intervention, Dignity Therapy (DT), to help these patients maintain pride, find spiritual comfort, enhance continuity of self, and ultimately make meaning of their life threatening illness.
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Dignity Impact Scale |
26.3; 26.2; 26.2 | 0.02 sig |
| SECONDARY Preparation |
15.6; 14.7; 14.9 | 0.21 |
| SECONDARY Completion |
27.0; 27.2; 28.2 | 0.21 |
| SECONDARY Peaceful Awareness |
61; 31; 44; 201; 98; 144 | 0.11 |
| SECONDARY Treatment Preference |
24; 15; 11; 91; 44; 45 | 0.05 |
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- cancer diagnosis (receiving cancer therapy or cancer control care)
- receiving outpatient palliative care
- age 55 years or older
- able to speak and read English
- physically able to complete the study (Palliative Performance Scale [PPS]>50, suggesting a mean in life expectancy of 53 days at the time of enrollment since each patient is expected to participate in the study for 28-42 days maximum [4-6 weeks]).
Exclusion Criteria
- legally blind
- cognitively unable to complete study measures (Mini Mental Status Exam [MMSE] does not correctly spell the word world backwards)
- history of psychosis (medical record review)
- Patient Dignity Inventory score that indicates their distress level falls outside the remaining quota for a given step (quota is 50% of sample/site/step with low distress ≤ 2 problems rated >2 & 50% with high distress ≥ 3 problems rated >2)
- Spiritual distress score that indicates their distress level falls outside the remaining quota for a given step (quota is 50% of sample/site/step with low distress ≤ 2 problems rated >2 & 50% with high distress ≥ 3 problems rated >2)
- are participating in another psychosocial intervention study that is focused on concepts similar to the proposed study.
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03209440). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication. Informational only — not medical advice.