Recruitment challenges in clinical research including cancer patients and their caregivers. A randomized controlled trial study and lessons learned

Effectiveness of Pelvic Floor Muscle and Education-Based Therapies on Bladder, Bowel, Vaginal, Sexual, Psychological Function, Quality of Life, and Pelvic Floor Muscle Function in Females Treated for Gynecological Cancer: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Gynecological malignancies are prevalent in females, and this population is likely to experience symptoms of pelvic floor disorders and sexual dysfunction. Non-surgical, non-pharmaceutical conservative therapies, namely pelvic floor muscle (PFM) therapies and education-based interventions, could be beneficial for this population. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the evidence regarding their effectiveness on bladder, bowel, vaginal, sexual, psychological function, quality of life, and PFM function in gynecological cancer populations.

RECENT FINDINGS

Six databases were searched to identify studies employing any interventional study design, except case studies, to investigate the effect of PFM therapies, education-based interventions, or combined therapies on any outcome of interest. The search yielded 4467 results, from which 20 studies were included. Of these, 11 (55%) were RCTs, two (10%) were non-RCTs with two groups, and seven (35%) were non-RCTs with a single group. Findings suggest that combined (multimodal) therapies, specifically PFM (active > passive) + education therapies, appear more effective for vaginal, overall pelvic floor, sexual, and PFM function. PFM therapies (active and/or electrostimulation) may improve bladder outcomes. Limited evidence suggests PFM (active) + education therapies may improve bowel function. Conservative therapies may improve psychological function, although available data do not appear to favor a particular therapy. Given the conflicting findings regarding quality of life, no clear conclusions can be made. Interpretation of findings highlighted the importance of intervention dosage, adherence, and supervision for optimal effectiveness. Despite the limitations of the included studies, this review provides new and valuable insights for future research and clinical practice.

Caregiver recruitment strategies for interventions designed to optimize transitions from hospital to home: lessons from a randomized trial

Challenges to recruitment of family caregivers exist and are amplified when consent must occur in the context of chaotic healthcare circumstances, such as the transition from hospital to home. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during our randomized controlled trial provided an opportunity for a natural experiment exploring and examining different consent processes for caregiver recruitment. The purpose of this publication is to describe different recruitment processes (in-person versus virtual) and compare diversity in recruitment rates in the context of a care recipient's hospitalization. We found rates of family caregiver recruitment for in-person versus virtual were 28% and 23%, respectively (p = 0.01). Differences existed across groups with family caregivers recruited virtually being more likely to be younger, white, have greater than high school education, and not be a spouse or significant other to the care recipient, such as a child. Future work is still needed to identify the modality and timing of family caregiver recruitment to maximize rates and enhance the representativeness of the population for equitable impact.

Inequities in access to palliative and end-of-life care in the black population in Canada: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Improving equity and early access to palliative care for underserved populations in Canada is a priority. Little is known regarding access to palliative and end-of-life care in the Black population.

METHODS

We undertook a scoping review using the framework by Arksey and O'Malley to identify knowledge, access gaps, and experiences of palliative and end-of-life care among Blacks living with life-limiting illnesses in Canada. Primary studies, discussion papers, books, and reports were considered eligible. We followed a comprehensive search strategy developed by an information scientist. Searches were performed in the following bibliographic databases: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO via OVID, CINAHL via EBSCOhost, Scopus and Cochrane Library via Wiley. The search strategy was derived from three main concepts: (1) Black people; (2) Canada and Canadian provinces; (3) Palliative, hospice, or end-of-life care. No publication date or language limits were applied. Titles and abstracts were screened for eligibility by one reviewer and full text by two independent reviewers.

RESULTS

The search yielded 233 articles. Nineteen articles were selected for full-text review, and 7 articles met the inclusion criteria. These studies were published between 2010 and 2021, and conducted in the provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia only. Studies used both quantitative and qualitative methods and included cancer decedents, next of kin, family caregivers and religious leaders. Sample sizes in various studies ranged from 6 - 2,606 participants. Included studies reported a general lack of understanding about palliative and end-of-life care, positive and negative experiences, and limited access to palliative and end-of-life care for Blacks, across all care settings.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest limited knowledge of palliative care and inequities in access to palliative and end-of-life care for Blacks living with life-limiting illnesses in 2 Canadian provinces. There is an urgent need for research to inform tailored and culturally acceptable strategies to improve understanding and access to palliative care and end-of-life care among Blacks in Canada.

Overcoming recruitment hurdles in clinical trials: An investigation of remote consenting modalities and their impact on workload, workflow, and usability

Travel constraints can hinder the recruitment of eligible research participants in clinical trials, causing research timeline extensions, added costs, underpowered results, and early termination. Remote consenting can help solve these issues by allowing researchers and potential participants to connect remotely. This controlled experimental study investigates the effect of remote consenting on workload, workflow, usability, and barriers and facilitators to its implementation. Using a mixed experimental design, simulated consenting sessions were conducted with three different modalities (remote paper consent, eConsent, and teleconsent) with 23 researchers and 93 research participants. Each session involved a single researcher who experienced all three modalities, while three different research participants were assigned to each modality individually. Research participants and researchers completed surveys measuring workload and usability. Remote consenting allows researchers and participants to connect at their preferred location and time, and teleconsenting was found to be the preferred modality by the researchers, primarily due to its ability to exchange visual cues. However, challenges such as training requirements and technology dependence need to be addressed for widespread implementation. Future research should aim to eliminate these barriers and improve remote consenting modalities to facilitate clinical research participation.

Feasibility of a Multi-Component Strengths-Building Intervention for Caregivers of Persons With Heart Failure

Caregivers of persons with heart failure (HF) navigate complex care plans, yet support strategies often focus solely on meeting the needs of patients. We conducted a randomized waitlist control trial (N = 38) to test the feasibility and gauge initial effect size of the Caregiver Support intervention on quality of life, caregiver burden, and self-efficacy among HF caregivers. The intervention includes up to five remote, nurse-facilitated sessions. Components address: holistic caregiver assessment, life purpose, action planning, resources, and future planning. Caregivers were 93.3% female, 60% White, and 63.3% spouses. Average age was 59.4. Participants who completed the intervention reported high satisfaction and acceptability of activities. Between-group effect sizes at 16 and 32 weeks suggest improvement in quality of life (mental health) (.88; 1.08), caregiver burden (.31; .37), and self-efficacy (.63; .74). Caregivers found Caregiver Support acceptable and feasible. Findings contribute evidence that this intervention can enhance caregiver outcomes. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT04090749.

Physical Activity Together for Multiple Sclerosis (PAT-MS): A randomized controlled feasibility trial of a dyadic behaviour change intervention

Background

Many people with advanced multiple sclerosis (MS) and their care-partners do not engage in sufficient physical activity (PA) for health benefits. We developed "Physical Activity Together for MS (PAT-MS)", a 12-week dyadic behavioural intervention, to promote PA among these dyads. Herein, we evaluated the feasibility of PAT-MS before a definitive trial.

Methods

A randomized controlled feasibility trial, with 1:1 allocation into the intervention or wait-list control condition. Predefined progression criteria included rates of recruitment, retention, safety, participant satisfaction and adherence. Changes in self-reported and accelerometer-measured PA were assessed at baseline and post-intervention using mixed-factor ANOVAs. Effects sizes were calculated as Cohen's d.

Results

The recruitment rate (i.e., 20 participants in 10 months) was not acceptable. However, retention (80%) was acceptable. No serious adverse events were reported. There were high levels of participant satisfaction with the intervention (content (median = 6 out of 7), facilitator (median = 7 out of 7), and delivery (median = 5 out of 7)) and adherence (92% of the group sessions, 83% of the individual support calls, and 80% of the practice activities were completed). There were statistically significant time-by-condition interactions on self-reported PA, steps/day, and %wear time and minutes in sedentary behaviour, and moderate-to-vigorous PA from baseline to post-intervention in people with MS and their family care-partners.

Conclusion

PAT-MS appears feasible, safe, and efficacious for PA promotion in MS dyads. We established effect size estimates to power a future definitive trial and identified necessary methodological changes to increase the efficiency of study procedures and improve the quality of the intervention.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04267185; Registered February 12, 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04267185.

Designing effective exercise intervention trials for prostate cancer cohorts: a qualitative study on experiences and views of exercise oncology researchers

BACKGROUND

Exercise intervention research has shown promising results in preventing and reversing the side effects caused by prostate cancer and its' treatment. However, there are still unanswered questions and the need for additional research. As the field of exercise oncology in the context of prostate cancer presents unique challenges and complexities, seeking the advice of experienced exercise oncology researchers before initiating a similar trial could help to design more effective and efficient studies and help avoid pitfalls.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive study design and a nonprobability, purposive sampling method was employed. An interview guide was developed and included topics such as recruitment, retention, programme goals, research design, health considerations, treatment considerations, adverse events, exercise prescription and outcome tools. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted and interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Eight individuals with extensive experience working with prostate cancer patients in exercise oncology research settings were interviewed. Four main themes and seven subthemes were generated and supported by the data. Theme 1 highlighted the critical role of recruitment, with associated subthemes on recruitment barriers and recruitment methods. Theme 2 explored the positives and negatives of home-based programmes. Theme 3 focused on specific health characteristics, exercise prescription and outcome measure factors that must be considered when working with prostate cancer cohorts. Finally, theme 4 centered around the emotional dimensions present in exercise oncology trials, relating to both researchers and study participants.

CONCLUSION

Exercise oncology remains a challenging area in which to conduct research. Learning from experienced personnel in the field offers valuable information and guidance that could impact the success of future trials.

A Delphi Study of Core Patient-Reported Outcomes for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma and Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

There is little research to help health care professionals understand what patient outcomes are considered a priority in advanced liver or kidney cancer. Knowing what is important to patients can help promote person-centered approaches to treatment and disease management. The aim of this study was to identify those patient-reported outcomes (PROs) that patients, carers, and health care professionals consider as "core" when providing care to those with advanced liver or kidney cancer.

DATA SOURCES

A three-round Delphi study was undertaken to ask experts by profession or experience to rank PROs identified from a previous literature review. Fifty-four experts, including people living with advanced liver or kidney cancer (44.4%), family members and caregivers (9.3%), and health care professionals (46.8%), reached consensus on 49 PROs including 12 new items (eg, palpitations, hopefulness, or social isolation). Items with the highest rate of consensus included quality of life, pain, mental health, and capacity to do daily activities.

CONCLUSION

People living with advanced liver or kidney cancer experience complex health care needs. Some important outcomes were not actually captured in practice in this population and were suggested as part of this study. There are discrepancies between the views of health care professionals, patients, and family in what is important, highlighting the need of using measures to facilitate communication.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Identification of priority PROs reported here will be key to facilitate more focused patient assessments. The actual use of measures in cancer nursing practice to allow monitoring of PROs must be tested for feasibility and usability.

The Role of Filial Piety in Dyadic Recruitment of Chinese American Parents With Type 2 Diabetes and Their Adult Children

INTRODUCTION

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is prevalent among Asian Americans, yet limited health care studies report on the recruitment and retention of this population. This study focuses on recruiting Chinese American dyads for family support of T2D management.

METHOD

This is a descriptive study using active and passive recruitment strategies. Dyads consist of parents with T2D and their adult children without diabetes. All materials are culturally tailored and available in Chinese.

RESULTS

The final sample included 54 dyads. There were characteristic differences among parent participants in English language proficiency and education levels. Filial piety manifested as respect and care for one's parents among Chinese American families contributed to recruitment success.

DISCUSSION

This article shares strategies for recruiting Chinese American dyads to explore family support dynamics for T2D self-management. The findings potentially add to current knowledge about culture, nursing, and health care.

Cognitive behavioural therapy self-help intervention preferences among informal caregivers of adults with chronic kidney disease: an online cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Informal caregivers (i.e. family and friends) provide essential support to people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Many informal caregivers experience mental health problems such as anxiety and depression due to the caregiving role, and commonly have unmet psychological support needs. One potential solution is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) self-help interventions that are less reliant on extensive involvement of healthcare professionals, which may increase access. Within the intervention development phase of the MRC framework, the study's primary objective was to examine informal caregivers' self-help intervention preferences (e.g. delivery format, content). Secondary objectives were to describe the informal caregiver's situation (e.g. type of care activities) and mental health (symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress).

METHODS

An online cross-sectional survey conducted in the United Kingdom. Informal caregivers of adults living with CKD were recruited via social media, websites, newsletters, magazine articles, a podcast episode, and paid Facebook advertisements. The survey examined: informal caregiver characteristics; care recipient characteristics; self-help intervention preferences; and informal caregiver's mental health using the DASS-21. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Sixty-five informal caregivers participated. The majority (85%) were female, caring for a male (77%) spouse/partner (74%). Responses indicated 58% of informal caregivers were experiencing at least mild depression. In total, 48% indicated they were likely to use a CBT self-help intervention, preferring an intervention provided via internet (e.g. website) (64%), workbook (56%), or individually in-person (54%). Regarding content, interventions should cover a wide range of topics including living with CKD, support services, informal caregiver's physical health, and diet. Overall, 48% reported a preference for a supported intervention, with support delivered in-person or via email by a trained professional at a community organisation.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest CBT self-help interventions may be an acceptable way to provide psychological support to informal caregivers, however the study is limited by the small sample size. A wide range of intervention preferences were identified indicating a need to tailor intervention content and delivery to enhance acceptability and engagement. Results will inform development of a CBT self-help intervention for informal caregivers of people with CKD.

Preference-based versus randomized controlled trial in prostate cancer survivors: Comparison of recruitment, adherence, attrition, and clinical outcomes

Introduction

Patients' unwillingness to be randomized to a mode of exercise may partly explain their poor recruitment, adherence, and attrition in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise in oncology. It is unknown whether a preference-based trial can improve recruitment, adherence, retention, and clinical outcomes compared to a RCT of the same exercise interventions.

Objective

We assessed the effects of a 2-arm exercise preference trial on adherence and clinical outcomes compared to a similar 2-arm RCT in men with prostate cancer (PC).

Methods

This was a two-arm preference-based trial of group-based training (GROUP) or home-based training (HOME). PC survivors on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) who declined randomization to the RCT but chose to participate in a preference trial were recruited in four Canadian centers. All study participants engaged in aerobic and resistance training, 4-5 days weekly for 6 months, aiming for 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The primary outcomes were changes from baseline to 6 months in fatigue and functional endurance. Secondary outcomes were quality of life, physical fitness, body composition, blood markers, and adherence. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effects of HOME versus GROUP on primary outcomes. In pooled preference and RCT data, the selection effect (i.e., difference between those who were and were not willing to be randomized) and treatment effect (i.e., difference between GROUP and HOME) were estimated using linear regression.

Results and conclusion

Fifty-four participants (mean [SD] age, 70.2 [8.6] years) were enrolled (GROUP n=17; HOME n=37). Comparable effects on primary and secondary outcomes were observed following GROUP or HOME in the preference-based trial. Adherence was similar between preference and RCT participants. However, attrition was higher in the RCT (50.0% vs. 27.8%, p= 0.04). Compared to GROUP, HOME was more effective in ameliorating fatigue (mean difference: +5.2, 95%CI=1.3 to 9.3 p=0.01) in pooled preference and RCT data. A preference-based trial results in comparable observed effects on clinical outcomes and adherence and lower attrition compared with a RCT of the same exercise interventions in PC survivors on ADT. Given the appeals of preference-based trials to study participants, additional studies are warranted.

Clinical trial registration

clinicaltrials.gov, identifier (NCT03335631).

Implementation of e-Mental Health Interventions for Informal Caregivers of Adults With Chronic Diseases: Mixed Methods Systematic Review With a Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Thematic Synthesis

BACKGROUND

Informal caregivers commonly experience mental health difficulties related to their caregiving role. e-Mental health interventions provide mental health support in a format that may be more accessible to informal caregivers. However, e-mental health interventions are seldom implemented in real-world practice.

OBJECTIVE

This mixed methods systematic review aimed to examine factors associated with the effectiveness and implementation of e-mental health interventions for informal caregivers of adults with chronic diseases. To achieve this aim, two approaches were adopted: combinations of implementation and intervention characteristics sufficient for intervention effectiveness were explored using qualitative comparative analysis, and barriers to and facilitators of implementation of e-mental health interventions for informal caregivers were explored using thematic synthesis.

METHODS

We identified relevant studies published from January 1, 2007, to July 6, 2022, by systematically searching 6 electronic databases and various secondary search strategies. Included studies reported on the effectiveness or implementation of e-mental health interventions for informal caregivers of adults with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, or stroke. Randomized controlled trials reporting on caregivers' mental health outcomes were included in a crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis. We assessed randomized controlled trials for bias using the Risk of Bias 2.0 tool, and we assessed how pragmatic or explanatory their trial design was using the Pragmatic Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary 2 tool. Studies of any design reporting on implementation were included in a thematic synthesis using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to identify barriers to and facilitators of implementation.

RESULTS

Overall, 53 reports, representing 29 interventions, were included in the review. Most interventions (27/29, 93%) focused on informal cancer or dementia caregivers. In total, 14 reports were included in the qualitative comparative analysis, exploring conditions including the presence of peer or professional support and key persuasive design features. Low consistency and coverage prevented the determination of condition sets sufficient for intervention effectiveness. Overall, 44 reports were included in the thematic synthesis, and 152 barriers and facilitators were identified, with the majority related to the intervention and individual characteristic domains of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Implementation barriers and facilitators in the inner setting (eg, organizational culture) and outer setting (eg, external policies and resources) domains were largely unexplored.

CONCLUSIONS

e-Mental health interventions for informal caregivers tend to be well-designed, with several barriers to and facilitators of implementation identified related to the intervention and individual user characteristics. Future work should focus on exploring the views of stakeholders involved in implementation to determine barriers to and facilitators of implementing e-mental health interventions for informal caregivers, focusing on inner and outer setting barriers and facilitators.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews) CRD42020155727; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020155727.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035406.

Practices of patient engagement in drug development: a systematic scoping review

BACKGROUND

During the past decade, patient engagement (PE) has attracted significant attention in the field of drug development. Readiness to accept the central importance of patients' knowledge and contributions has become evident. This study aimed to synthesize evidence on the current state of PE in drug development: what is actually being done and how.

METHODS

A systematic scoping review was conducted based on a PRISMA-informed protocol. Search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science, covering the period between 2011 and 2021. For analysis of extracted data, we developed a framework for analyzing PE in Drug Development. The Framework distinguishes a number of different PE types that take place at different stages of drug development and are characterized by the different degrees of power patients have in the process. It allowed us to assess depth and intensity of PE initiatives included in this review.

RESULTS

Most included PE initiatives took place at the stage of designing studies (40 in total). At this stage drug development goals are already set, but the mode of reaching them has not yet been fully determined. PE initiatives on the finetuning details stage followed (16 in total). The finetuning details stage covers the last parts of the drug development trajectory, when only relatively minor issues are still open for patients' contributions. The least numerous were PE initiatives on the stage of setting up R&D program (13 in total). This stage refers to the early steps in drug development where PE has the potential to make the most impact on shaping the subsequent process. In terms of intensity of engagement, most PE initiatives included in this review align with consultation and involvement types, 26 and 30 initiatives, respectively. Partnership was less frequent in the published accounts of PE (13 initiatives).

CONCLUSIONS

This review delineated a contemporary landscape of PE in drug development. Although attention to PE in drug development is relatively recent, a wide range of PE practices has already been initiated. The results indicate the necessity of distinguishing between different types of PE in order to understand consequences of choices regarding depth and intensity of PE.

Family caregiver ambassador support for caregivers of patients with newly diagnosed hematological cancer: a feasibility study

PURPOSE

This study investigated the feasibility of a one-on-one peer support intervention in family caregivers of newly diagnosed patients with a hematological cancer during initial treatment.

METHODS

The study was a one-arm feasibility study including family caregivers of newly diagnosed patients with hematological cancer (n = 26) and caregiver ambassadors who were family caregivers of previously treated patients as peer supporters (n = 17). The one-on-one peer support intervention consisted of three components: a caregiver ambassador preparatory course; 12 weeks of one-on-one peer support, and caregiver ambassador network meetings.

RESULTS

Family caregivers reported high satisfaction with the delivery and flexibility of one-on-one peer support and improved in most psychosocial outcomes over time. Telephone and text messages were the most used form of contact between the peers. Caregiver ambassadors reported high satisfaction with the preparatory course and used the available support from the network meetings. No adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSION

One-on-one peer support provided by a caregiver ambassador is feasible and safe in family caregivers of newly diagnosed hematological cancer patients during their initial treatment. Utilizing volunteer caregiver ambassadors has the potential to be a new support model in family caregivers of hematological cancer patients across diagnostic groups within a clinical setting.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT04039100, July 29, 2019.

Assessing Multiple Factors Affecting Minority Participation in Clinical Trials: Development of the Clinical Trials Participation Barriers Survey

The purpose of this review is to analyze factors that influence individuals' decisions to participate in clinical trials focusing on racial and ethnic disparities that exist in clinical trials. These factors are then used to develop a survey that may be used in a clinical setting to further understand specific factors affecting participation. A comprehensive search of electronic databases was carried out for publications from 2010 to 2021 using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. After reviewing the data, the predominant factors that were encountered in the search were then commented upon and reviewed to create an evidence-based questionnaire. ​​​​Using the comprehensive search, factors that affect clinical trial participation were identified. These factors were then used to create a comprehensive, evidence-based questionnaire to be implemented in a clinical setting to conduct and analyze the factors impacting participation in clinical trials. ​​​​​​​Understanding the factors that primarily impact an individual's decisions to participate or not participate in a clinical trial allow researchers to implement changes to decrease the hesitancy regarding participation. 

Feasibility, usability, and acceptability of personalized web-based assessment of social network and daily social support interactions over time

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of implementing a web-based method for collecting social network and longitudinal daily interaction data from cancer survivors and their caregivers.

Methods

Young adult and sexual/gender minority cancer survivors and their informal caregivers were recruited as dyads. Feasibility data, including enrollment and retention, were captured. Individual social network data were collected at baseline and used to individualize daily electronically delivered surveys assessing characteristics of daily social support-related interactions with identified network members for 14 days. Follow-up questionnaires assessing usability and exit interviews assessing acceptability were completed at the end of the 2-week study period.

Results

Fourteen survivor-caregiver dyads (28 individual participants) were enrolled and completed all baseline and final measures. Participants completed 85.2% of daily diary reports and reported excellent usability ratings. Acceptability was also high. In qualitative interviews, participants reported enjoying the daily reflection on social support facilitated by our methods.

Conclusions

Our method has been shown to be highly feasible, usable, and acceptable.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Developing better data collection tools can lead to better understanding of the social support cancer survivors and their caregivers receive, and how the social network structure facilitates or creates barriers to accessing this support.

Self-management by older people living with cancer and multi-morbidity: a qualitative study

PURPOSE

Over half of individuals diagnosed with cancer are aged over 70 years, and more than 75% of those with cancer report at least one other medical condition. Having multiple conditions alongside cancer in old age may lower functional status, greater likelihood of treatment complications and less favourable prognoses. This qualitative study explored how older people with long-term chronic conditions manage their health and meet their health-related goals after they have completed treatment for cancer.

METHODS

One-to-one face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with 8 older people and 2 informal caregivers based in the UK. Older adults were eligible to participate if they were over 70 and had completed primary cancer treatment with curative intent and had at least one other chronic health condition. A semi-structured interview schedule developed a priori based on Shippee's cumulative complexity model was used. We aimed to explore experiences that could influence self-management, utilisation of healthcare services and health outcomes. A framework analysis was used to describe and interpret the data.

RESULTS

Four overarching themes were identified in the analysis. These themes related to factors that influenced the everyday health-related workload and capacity of the participants. These factors included their health, resources, and opportunities, as well their motivation and sense of perceived control over their lives.

CONCLUSIONS

Fragmented healthcare systems and relationships with healthcare professionals also influenced the participants' self-management of their health. Our findings highlight the interaction between an individuals' needs, capacity, treatment burden, and the services and resources available to them. These findings support calls to promote person-centred care to better support older adults to manage their health.

"You just need to learn": A qualitative study on the information needs of family caregivers of people with lung cancer

PURPOSE

Lung cancer caregivers often face considerable duties and responsibilities yet frequently feel unprepared for this role. The current study is the first to purposefully explore the information needs of family caregivers throughout the lung cancer trajectory.

METHODS

Semi structured interviews were conducted with nine lung cancer caregivers (7 female) including those bereaved within five years. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Four main themes emerged: 1) "He knew that I'd ask questions, you see": Information-gathering during appointments; 2) "You can't really ask that with mum there": Discordant information needs between caregiver and the person with lung cancer; 3) "Trying to get the answers": Seeking information beyond the hospital; 4) "It took a while to kind of get into": Learning to adjust to changing roles and circumstances.

CONCLUSIONS

Lung cancer caregivers need reliable information to feel competent in their new roles and responsibilities. In the current study, there were a number of areas in which information was lacking, including those related to treatment, side effects, care services and symptom management. The provision of appropriate and timely information to lung cancer caregivers can ensure they feel supported in their roles and responsibilities. This will in turn benefit lung cancer survivors by ensuring that they understand information in consultations with oncology nurses and other health professionals and receive appropriate support from their caregivers that enhances their quality of life along the cancer trajectory.

Successful Strategies and Areas of Improvement-Lessons Learned from Design and Conduction of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial in Palliative Care, 'Palliative-D'

Clinical trials in palliative care are challenging to design and conduct. Burden on patients should be minimized, while gatekeeping by professionals and next-of kin needs to be avoided. Clinical deterioration due to disease progression affects attrition unrelated to intervention, and different care settings complicate comparisons and reduce the generalizability of the results. The aim of this review is to provide advice for colleagues planning to perform clinical trials in palliative care based on our own experiences from performing the Palliative-D study and by a thorough literature review on this topic. The Palliative-D study was a double-blind trial with 244 randomized patients comparing the effect of vitamin D₃ to placebo in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer in the palliative phase of their disease trajectory who were enrolled in specialized palliative home care teams. Endpoints were opioid and antibiotic use, fatigue, and QoL. Recruitment was successful, but attrition rates were higher than expected, and we did not reach targeted power. For the 150 patients who completed the study, the completeness of the data was exceptionally high. Rather than patient reported pain, we choose the difference in the mean change in opioid dose between groups after twelve weeks compared to baseline as the primary endpoint. In this paper we discuss challenges in palliative care research based on lessons learned from the "Palliative-D" trial regarding successful strategies as well as areas for improvement.

Impact of the TEAM Wheels eHealth manual wheelchair training program: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background

Variable, and typically inadequate, delivery of skills training following manual wheelchair (MWC) provision has a detrimental impact on user mobility and participation. Traditional in-person delivery of training by rehabilitation therapists has diminished due to cost, travel time, and most recently social distancing restrictions due to COVID-19. Effective alternative training approaches include eHealth home training applications and interactive peer-led training using experienced and proficient MWC users. An innovative TEAM Wheels program integrates app-based self-training and teleconference peer-led training using a computer tablet platform.

Objective

This protocol outlines implementation and evaluation of the TEAM Wheels training program in a randomized control trial using a wait-list control group.

Setting

The study will be implemented in a community setting in three Canadian cities.

Participants

Individuals ≥ 18 years of age within one year of transitioning to use of a MWC.

Intervention

Using a computer tablet, participants engage in three peer-led teleconference training sessions and 75–150 minutes of weekly practice using a video-based training application over 4 weeks. Peer trainers individualize the participants’ training plans and monitor their tablet-based training activity online. Control group participants also receive the intervention following a 1-month wait-list period and data collection.

Measurements

Outcomes assessing participation; skill capacity and performance; self-efficacy; mobility; and quality of life will be measured at baseline and post-treatment, and at 6-month follow-up for the treatment group.

Impact statement

We anticipate that TEAM Wheels will be successfully carried out at all sites and participants will demonstrate statistically significant improvement in the outcome measures compared with the control group.

Cognitive late effects following allogeneic stem cell transplantation in haematological cancer patients

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this exploratory study was to determine the presence and correlates of self-reported cognition in a sample of haematological cancer patients who had undergone allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT).

METHODS

Haematological cancer patients (n = 30) who had undergone allogeneic SCT between one and five years previously and age-matched control participants (n = 30) completed questionnaires assessing cognition, affect, sleep quality and fatigue and an assessment of premorbid IQ.

RESULTS

Patients reported significantly poorer perceived cognitive ability (d = 1.12) and greater perceived cognitive impairment (d = 0.96) than controls. Lower fatigue was significantly associated with greater perceived cognitive ability (r = 0.75 patients and controls) and less perceived cognitive impairment (r = 0.80 patients; r = 0.57 controls). Interestingly, depression was significantly correlated with perceived cognitive ability in the control group only (r = 0.80). Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that fatigue was a significant predictor of perceived cognitive ability in patients, accounting for 56% of the variance.

CONCLUSIONS

This study established that self-reported cognitive ability and cognitive impairment was significantly poorer in haematological cancer patients than controls. Furthermore, fatigue was significantly associated with perceived cognitive ability in patients. Future research should focus on identifying interventions that target fatigue in allogeneic SCT recipients in order to improve quality of life throughout survivorship.

Planning and optimising CHAT&PLAN: A conversation-based intervention to promote person-centred care for older people living with multimorbidity

BACKGROUND

Older people are more likely to be living with cancer and multiple long-term conditions, but their needs, preferences for treatments, health priorities and lifestyle are often not identified or well-understood. There is a need to move towards a more comprehensive person-centred approach to care that focuses on the cumulative impact of a number of conditions on daily activities and quality of life. This paper describes the intervention planning process for CHAT& PLANTM, a structured conversation intervention to promote personalised care and support self-management in older adults with complex conditions.

METHODS

A theory-, evidence- and person-based approach to intervention development was undertaken. The intervention planning and development process included reviewing relevant literature and existing guidelines, developing guiding principles, conducting a behavioural analysis and constructing a logic model. Optimisation of the intervention and its implementation involved qualitative interviews with older adults with multimorbidity (n = 8), family caregivers (n = 2) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) (n = 20). Data were analysed thematically and informed changes to the intervention prototype.

RESULTS

Review findings reflected the importance of HCPs taking a person-centred (rather than disease-centred) approach to their work with older people living with multimorbidity. This approach involves HCPs giving health service users the opportunity to voice their priorities, then using these to underpin the treatment and care plan that follow. Findings from the planning stage indicated that taking a structured approach to interactions between HCPs and health service users would enable elicitation of individual concerns, development of a plan tailored to that individual, negotiation of roles and review of goals as individual priorities change. In the optimisation stage, older adults and HCPs commented on the idea of a structured conversation to promote person-centred care and on its feasibility in practice. The idea of a shared, person-centred approach to care was viewed positively. Concerns were raised about possible extra work for those receiving or delivering care, time and staffing, and risk of creating another "tick-box" exercise for staff. Participants concluded that anyone with the appropriate skills could potentially deliver the intervention, but training was likely to be required to ensure correct utilisation and self-efficacy to deliver to the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

CHAT&PLAN, a structured person-centred conversation guide appears acceptable and appealing to HCPs and older adults with multimorbidity. Further development of the CHAT&PLAN intervention should focus on ensuring that staff are adequately trained and supported to implement the intervention.

Feasibility, acceptability and effects of multimodal pelvic floor physical therapy for gynecological cancer survivors suffering from painful sexual intercourse: A multicenter prospective interventional study

OBJECTIVES

Painful sexual intercourse (dyspareunia) is a distressing condition affecting a large proportion of gynecological cancer survivors, yet treatments remain limited and poorly studied. This multicenter prospective interventional study examined the feasibility, acceptability and effects of multimodal pelvic floor physical therapy in gynecological cancer survivors with dyspareunia.

METHODS

Thirty-one endometrial and cervical cancer survivors with dyspareunia participated in 12 weekly 60-min physical therapy sessions combining education, manual therapy, pelvic floor muscle exercises using biofeedback and home exercises, which included the use of a dilator. The adherence rate to home exercises (≥80%), the attendance rate at physical therapy sessions (≥80% of participants attending ≥10 sessions) and the dropout rate (˂15%) served as feasibility and acceptability outcomes and benchmarks. Pain intensity, pain quality, sexual function, pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms and quality of life were measured at baseline and post-treatment. Treatment satisfaction and participants' perceived improvement were also assessed.

RESULTS

The adherence rate was 88% (SD 10), 29/31 (94%) women attended ≥10 treatment sessions, and the dropout rate was 3%. Moreover, women experienced significant improvements in all outcomes after the intervention (p ≤ 0.044). They also reported being highly satisfied with the treatment (9.3/10 (SD 1.2)), and 90% of them were very much or much improved.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings support the feasibility and acceptability of multimodal pelvic floor physical therapy for gynecological cancer survivors with dyspareunia. The intervention also led to significant improvements in pain, sexual function, pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms and quality of life. A randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm these results.

Utilizing RE-AIM to examine the translational potential of Project MOVE, a novel intervention for increasing physical activity levels in breast cancer survivors

Translating effective research into community practice is critical for improving breast cancer (BC) survivor health. The purpose of this study is to utilize the RE-AIM framework to evaluate the translational potential of Project MOVE, an innovative intervention focused on increasing physical activity (PA) in BC survivors. A mixed-methods design, including a self-report questionnaire, accelerometry, focus groups, and interviews, was used to inform each RE-AIM dimension. Reach was evaluated by the representativeness of participants. Effectiveness was reflected by change in PA levels and perceptions of satisfaction and acceptability. Adoption was examined using participants' perceived barriers/facilitators to program uptake. Implementation was examined by participants' perceived barriers/facilitators to implementing the program. Maintenance was assessed by participant retention. Assessments occurred at baseline and 6-months. Mixed analysis of variance and content analysis were used to analyze the data. A total of 87 participants participated in Project MOVE and were demographically comparable to similar studies (Reach). Participants indicated high levels of program satisfaction (88%) and previously inactive survivors' significantly increased PA levels from baseline to 6-month follow-up (Effectiveness). Participants reported that a program focused on PA rather than disease helped them overcome barriers to PA (Adoption) and having leaders with BC and exercise expertise was essential to accommodate population specific barriers (Implementation). At 6-months, participant retention was 83% (Maintenance). Project MOVE is an acceptable, practical, and effective program for engaging BC survivors in PA and has the potential to be highly transferable to other populations and regions.

Digital tools for the recruitment and retention of participants in randomised controlled trials: a systematic map

BACKGROUND

Recruiting and retaining participants in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is challenging. Digital tools, such as social media, data mining, email or text-messaging, could improve recruitment or retention, but an overview of this research area is lacking. We aimed to systematically map the characteristics of digital recruitment and retention tools for RCTs, and the features of the comparative studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of these tools during the past 10 years.

METHODS

We searched Medline, Embase, other databases, the Internet, and relevant web sites in July 2018 to identify comparative studies of digital tools for recruiting and/or retaining participants in health RCTs. Two reviewers independently screened references against protocol-specified eligibility criteria. Included studies were coded by one reviewer with 20% checked by a second reviewer, using pre-defined keywords to describe characteristics of the studies, populations and digital tools evaluated.

RESULTS

We identified 9163 potentially relevant references, of which 104 articles reporting 105 comparative studies were included in the systematic map. The number of published studies on digital tools has doubled in the past decade, but most studies evaluated digital tools for recruitment rather than retention. The key health areas investigated were health promotion, cancers, circulatory system diseases and mental health. Few studies focussed on minority or under-served populations, and most studies were observational. The most frequently-studied digital tools were social media, Internet sites, email and tv/radio for recruitment; and email and text-messaging for retention. One quarter of the studies measured efficiency (cost per recruited or retained participant) but few studies have evaluated people's attitudes towards the use of digital tools.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic map highlights a number of evidence gaps and may help stakeholders to identify and prioritise further research needs. In particular, there is a need for rigorous research on the efficiency of the digital tools and their impact on RCT participants and investigators, perhaps as studies-within-a-trial (SWAT) research. There is also a need for research into how digital tools may improve participant retention in RCTs which is currently underrepresented relative to recruitment research.

REGISTRATION

Not registered; based on a pre-specified protocol, peer-reviewed by the project's Advisory Board.

Recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations in Alzheimer's disease research: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged adults. Yet, these populations are significantly underrepresented in research.

METHODS

We systematically reviewed the literature for published reports describing recruitment and retention of individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in ADRD research or underrepresented participants' perspectives regarding ADRD research participation. Relevant evidence was synthesized and evaluated for quality.

RESULTS

We identified 22 eligible studies. Seven studies focused on recruitment/retention approaches, all of which included multifaceted efforts and at least one community outreach component. There was considerable heterogeneity in approaches used, specific activities and strategies, outcome measurement, and conclusions regarding effectiveness. Despite limited use of prospective evaluation strategies, most authors reported improvements in diverse representation in ADRD cohorts. Studies evaluating participant views focused largely on predetermined explanations of participation including attitudes, barriers/facilitators, education, trust, and religiosity. Across all studies, the strength of evidence was low.

DISCUSSION

Overall, the quantity and quality of available evidence to inform best practices in recruitment, retention, and inclusion of underrepresented populations in ADRD research are low. Further efforts to systematically evaluate the success of existing and emergent approaches will require improved methodological standards and uniform measures for evaluating recruitment, participation, and inclusivity.

Factors Influencing Adherence to Recommended Colorectal Cancer Surveillance: Experiences and Behaviors of Colorectal Cancer Survivors

The number of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors in the USA is increasing and factors associated with CRC surveillance require attention. This study examined the role of personal, provider, and practice-level factors on CRC survivor care surveillance experiences and outcomes. A telephone survey, informed by the Chronic Care Model, was conducted over a 1-year period with 150 CRC survivors identified via the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry. Participants were ages ≥ 21 years and diagnosed with stages I-III CRC within 1.5 years of study enrollment. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Adherence was defined as receipt of surveillance colonoscopy at 13 months post-CRC surgery, as recommended by evidence-based guidelines. The majority of participants were male (55%) and white (86%), with a median age of 65 years (range 25-89). Almost half (43%) had attained a high school degree or less. Cancer stage was fairly evenly distributed, and 58% had received treatment by surgery alone (provider-level factor). Few participants (56%) received a survivorship care plan (practice-level factor), and adherence to surveillance colonoscopy was lowest (36%) among participants with more than one comorbidity (personal-level factor). Logistic regression models showed that the only significant effect of personal, provider, or practice-level factors on CRC surveillance adherence was related to type of health insurance coverage (private/HMO vs. other; p = 0.04). This is one of the first studies to evaluate CRC surveillance in a socioeconomically diverse sample. The only associations found among the examined factors and adherence were related to type of health insurance coverage. Participants with private/HMO health insurance were significantly more likely than participants with "other" health insurance coverage types (i.e., none, Medicare without supplement, Medicare with supplement) to be adherent to the 13-month colonoscopy. Therefore, future education strategies and patient navigation interventions could focus on identifying and overcoming multi-level barriers to CRC surveillance services.

Patient Recruitment in Radiation Therapy Research: An Evaluation of Local Challenges

INTRODUCTION

Locally-initiated research studies in radiation therapy (RT) aim to substantiate clinical processes and are an effective approach to gather evidence for advances in patient care, new techniques, and protocols. The aim of this study was to retrospectively quantify recruitment challenges at a radiation oncology network (RON).

METHODS

Five locally initiated studies were included for analysis through the criteria of being undertaken within 2001-2017, initiated through local research teams, and having recruitment records available. Data extraction from each study included duration, aims, patient activities, recruitment strategy, target number of participants, and number of participants who were recruited/not recruited and who withdrew from the study. Reasons for nonregistration and withdrawal were recorded if available. Two studies are presented as case studies.

RESULTS

Included studies were diverse in patient population and study aim and included patient immobilization (lung and breast cancer), evaluation of radiation-induced esophagitis, documentation of anatomical and dosimetric changes in patients with head and neck cancer, and education (breast cancer). The exclusion of non-English-speaking patients, which is significant for the RON, which covers a wide cultural and linguistic diversity, was an important limiting factor, along with RT patients' disinterest in participation.

DISCUSSION

Challenges experienced in the evaluated RON studies are similar to non-RT clinical trials and included difficulties with patients interacting with study protocol, health practitioners' influence, and patient-related inclusion issues.

CONCLUSION

The resulting database provides a foundation for continued monitoring and documentation of study recruitment practice, which could elicit positive effects on planning and implementation of future patient recruitment strategies in RT locally initiated studies.

Evaluating recruitment methods of patients with advanced cancer: a pragmatic opportunistic comparison

Background

Recruitment of patients with advanced cancer into studies is challenging.

Objective

To evaluate recruitment methods in a study of pharmacist-led cancer pain medicine consultations and produce recommendations for future studies.

Method

Two methods of recruitment were employed: (1) community-based (general practitioner computer search, identification by general practitioner, community pharmacist or district nurse and hospital outpatient list search) and (2) hospice-based (in and outpatient list search). Patients identified in method 1 were invited by post and in method 2 were invited face-to-face. Information was designed in collaboration with patients and carers.

Results

A total of 128 patients were identified (85 from the community and 43 from the hospice), and 47 met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-three agreed to take part and 19 completed the study, 17 of whom were already under specialist palliative care. Recruitment rates were 7% for community-based methods and 40% for hospice. The recruitment methods differed in intensity of resource use. Recruitment via letter and a lack of engagement by healthcare professionals were found to be barriers. Facilitators included the researcher having personal involvement in recruitment.

Conclusion

The overall recruitment rate was in line with other studies for this patient cohort. Attempts to identify and engage patients through community-based postal contact were less effective than where personal contact with patients was both possible and occurred. Methods were less successful at recruiting patients who were not already engaged with hospice services.

A community pharmacist medicines optimisation service for patients with advanced cancer pain: a proof of concept study

Background Patients with advanced cancer commonly experience pain and it is least controlled in community settings. Community pharmacists in the UK already offer medicines optimisation consultations although not for this patient group. Objective To determine whether medicines consultations for patients with advanced cancer pain are feasible and acceptable. Setting Community-dwelling patients with advanced cancer pain were recruited from primary, secondary and tertiary care using purposive sampling in one UK city. Methods One face-to-face or two telephone delivered medicines optimisation consultations by pharmacists were tested. These were based on services currently delivered in UK community pharmacies. Feedback was obtained from patients and healthcare professionals involved to assess feasibility and acceptability. Main outcome measure Recruitment, acceptability and drug related problems. Results Twenty-three patients, (range 33-88 years) were recruited, 19 completed consultation(s) of whom 17 were receiving palliative care services. Five received face-to-face consultations and 14 by telephone during which 47 drug related problems were identified from 33 consultations (mean 2.5). Advice was provided for 34 drug related problems in 17 patients and referral to other healthcare professionals for 13 in 8 patients, 2 patients had none. Eleven patients returned questionnaires of which 8 (73%) would recommend the consultations to others. Conclusion The consultations were feasible as patients were recruited, retained, consultations delivered, and data collected. Patients found the 20-30 min intervention acceptable, found a self-perceived increase in medicines knowledge and most would recommend it to others. Community pharmacists were willing to carry out these services however they had confidence issues in accessing working knowledge. Most drug related problems were resolved by the pharmacists and even among patients receiving palliative care services there were still issues concerning analgesic management. Pharmacist-conducted medicines consultations demonstrate potential which now needs to be evaluated within a larger study in the future.

Obstacles to recruitment in paediatric studies focusing on mental health in a physical health context: the experiences of clinical gatekeepers in an observational cohort study

Background

Studies in both paediatric and psychiatric settings often experience problems in recruitment. This can compromise the ability of the study to recruit to target, meaning studies are potentially underpowered. It can also result in a biased sample if a non-representative group are selectively recruited. Recruitment to studies in health contexts often depends on healthcare professionals, who act as gatekeepers by screening patients for eligibility and obtaining consent for the research team to contact them. The experience of health professionals as gatekeepers in paediatric studies is poorly understood and may affect whether recruitment is successful or not.

Methods

Six out of seven eligible healthcare professionals from a specialist paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) team were interviewed. All participants were undertaking initial clinical assessments within which they were asked to identify eligible patients for an observational study of co-morbid mental health problems in adolescents with confirmed CFS/ME. This study had experienced particular recruitment problems, more so than other studies in the same service. Interview questions were designed to explore perceptions of research, and barriers and facilitators of recruitment. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used.

Results

Participants espoused their commitment to the value of research. However, they perceived there to be a number of barriers to recruitment. Barriers within the clinical context included time pressures and the emotional nature of initial clinical assessments. Barriers posed by the wider research context included recruiting to multiple studies at the same time. Factors specific to the observational study of mental health in CFS/ME included aspects of the study design, such as the name and nature of the study, as well as the focus of the study itself. Participants made a number of recommendations about how recruitment barriers could be overcome.

Conclusions

The current study highlights the need to carefully consider, at design stage, how to overcome potential barriers to recruitment. Gatekeepers should be actively involved at this stage to ensure that the study is set up in such a way to best enable recruitment activities within the clinical setting.

The challenges of recruiting cancer patient/caregiver dyads: informing randomized controlled trials

Background

Family members are increasingly involved in the care of cancer patients, however many are not prepared for this challenging role. Intervention-based studies are valuable to inform the most appropriate and effective support for caregivers. Barriers in the recruitment of patient/caregiver dyads exist but the reasons for non-participation are less well understood. This analysis determined the factors associated with participation in a randomized controlled trial involving patient/caregiver dyads, reasons for non-participation and factors associated with these reasons.

Methods

Patients with any type of cancer (other than non-melanoma skin cancer), and their caregiver were recruited at four Australian health services. Eligible patients were invited to participate together with their caregiver (N = 737). Non-participation data were collected from non-participants. Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine factors associated with participation.

Results

Of the 737 eligible dyads, 521 (71%) declined participation. Dyad characteristics associated with participation were caregiver gender, patient treatment modality and hospital type. The odds for participating were almost two times greater for female than male caregivers (p = 0.005); 13 times greater for patients receiving chemoradiotherapy compared to radiotherapy alone (p < 0.001); and three times greater for dyads attending a private versus public hospital (p < 0.001). Reasons for non-participation were lack of interest (33%), lack of time (29%), not requiring support (23%), too burdensome (15%); factors significantly associated with these reasons were treatment modality, patient age, cancer type, and hospital type. Patients diagnosed with prostate cancer and receiving chemotherapy alone were less likely to decline due to a lack of interest. Patients more likely to decline due to lack of time were those aged 40–59 years and receiving chemotherapy alone. Patients who were more likely to decline because they felt participation was too burdensome were those attending a private hospital for treatment.

Conclusions

To optimize recruitment, it is recommended that special attention is given to different cancer types and treatment modalities, gender and age. Approaching dyads at varied time points when their need for support is high is recommended. This analysis provides important information for researchers undertaking randomized controlled trials involving people diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers.

Enhancing patient-level clinical data access to promote evidence-based practice and incentivize therapeutic innovation

Clinical trials are crucial to determining the human safety and efficacy of new therapeutic innovations. Extraordinary amounts of human experiential data are generated over the course of any clinical trial, however, much of these data is never made publicly accessible. Improved, reliable data sharing is essential to inform clinical decisions and incentivize further therapeutic improvements; this need, and the call and concept to enhance patient-level clinical trial data accessibility is not new. Several recent public and private shifts in clinical data sharing policies and procedures promise to improve access and data utility to reduce waste in research and increase efficiency of evidence synthesis. Nonetheless, pharmaceutical industry remain reluctant to share full clinical data sets at some level to protect their commercial interests and avoid misuse of their data. Here, we review the landscape of emerging regulations related to the sharing of patient level data and current clinical data access models of major pharmaceutical companies. We also summarize the different measures that could satisfy both clinical data producers and users in achieving the benefits of accessing patient-level data while mitigating any associated risks.

Natural Killer Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapy: A Review on 10 Years Completed Clinical Trials

NK cell cancer immunotherapy is an emerging anti-tumour therapeutic strategy that explores NK cell stimulation. In this review, we address strategies developed to circumvent limitations to clinical application of NK cell-based therapies, and comprehensively review the design and results of clinical trials conducted in the past 10 years (2008-2018) to test their therapeutic potential. NK cell-based immunotherapy of solid cancers remains controversial, but merit further detailed investigation.

Patient education using virtual reality increases knowledge and positive experience for breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy

PURPOSE

Improved access to technology in the radiation therapy (RT) workforce education has resulted in opportunities for innovative patient education methods. This study investigated the impact of a newly developed education tool using the Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training (VERT) system on patients' RT knowledge and anxiety.

METHOD

Breast cancer patients were recruited into a control group (CG) (n = 18) who underwent the standard pre-RT education package at a targeted cancer therapy centre, followed by a VERT group (VG) (n = 19). VG patients attended a VERT-based education session detailing RT immobilisation, planning and treatment. All patients completed questionnaires at four time points throughout their treatment, with survey sub-sections on RT knowledge, experience and anxiety.

RESULTS

For both groups, anxiety levels were highest at time point 1(T1 after initial radiation oncologist consultation) (CG, 41.2; VG, 43.1), with a gradual decrease observed thereafter at time points before simulation, at the beginning of treatment and at the end of treatment (p > 0.05). The VG's RT knowledge scores were statistically significantly higher than those of the CG scores at all time points following VERT education (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study reports the high value of VERT breast cancer-targeted education programs in improving RT knowledge and perhaps decreasing patient anxiety. Continued efforts are required to improve patients' accessibility to VERT in Australia, and to better understand the effect of VERT's unique educational features on patients' emotional and physical needs throughout their RT.

Lessons learnt in recruiting disadvantaged families to a birth cohort study

BACKGROUND

Dental decay in early childhood can be prevented by a model based on shared care utilising members of primary care team such as Child and Family Health Nurses (CFHNs) in health promotion and early intervention. The aims of this study were to identify the facilitators and barriers faced by CFHNs in recruiting research participants from disadvantaged backgrounds to a birth cohort study in South Western Sydney, Australia.

METHODS

Child and Family Health Nurses recruited mothers-infants dyads (n = 1036) at the first post-natal home visit as part of Healthy Smiles Healthy Kids Study, an ongoing birth cohort study in South Western Sydney. The nurses (n = 19) were purposively selected and approached for a phone based in-depth semi-structured interview to identify the challenges faced by them during the recruitment process. Interviews were audio-recorded, subsequently transcribed verbatim and analysed by thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The nurses found the early phase of parenting was an overwhelming stage for parents as they are pre-occupied with more immediate issues such as settling and feeding a newborn. They highlighted some key time-points such as during pregnancy and/or around the time of infant teething may be more appropriate for recruiting families to dental research projects. However, they found it easier to secure the family's attention by offering incentives, gifts and invitations for free oral health services. The use of web-based approaches and maintaining regular contact with the participants was deemed crucial for long-term research. Cultural and linguistic barriers were seen as an obstacle in recruiting ethnic minority populations and the need for cultural insiders in the research team was deemed important to resolve the challenges associated with conducting research with diverse cultures. Finally, nurses identified the importance of inter-professional collaboration to provide easier access to recruiting research participants.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlighted the need for multiple time-points and incentives to facilitate recruitment and retention of disadvantaged communities in longitudinal research. The need for cultural insiders and inter-professional collaboration in research team are important to improve research participation.

Efficacy of a telephone outcall program to reduce caregiver burden among caregivers of cancer patients [PROTECT]: a randomised controlled trial

Background

Informal caregivers provide extended support to people with cancer but they receive little support from the health care system to assist them in their caring role. The aim of this single-blind, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial was to test the efficacy of a telephone outcall program to reduce caregiver burden and unmet needs, and improve psychological well-being among cancer caregivers, as well as evaluating the potential impact on patient outcomes.

Methods

Cancer patient/caregiver dyads (N = 216) were randomised to a telephone outcall program (n = 108) or attention control group (n = 108). The primary outcome was self-reported caregiver burden. Secondary endpoints included depressive symptoms, unmet needs, self-esteem, self-empowerment, and health literacy. Data were collected at baseline and at both 1 and 6 months post-intervention. An intention to treat analysis was performed.

Results

The intervention had no effect on the primary outcome (caregiver burden), but reduced the number of caregiver unmet needs (intervention group baseline, mean = 2.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.91–3.54]; intervention group 1 month post intervention, mean = 0.85, 95%CI [0.42–1.44]; control group baseline, mean = 1.30 95%CI [0.80–1.94], control group 1 month post intervention, mean = 1.02 95%CI [0.52–1.69]; p = 0.023). For caregivers at risk for depression, the intervention had a significant effect on caregivers’ confidence in having sufficient information to manage their health (p = 0.040). No effects were found for patients’ depressive symptoms, unmet needs, self-empowerment, and other health literacy domains.

Conclusions

While caregiver burden was not reduced, the outcall program was effective in reducing unmet needs in caregivers. Provision of cancer information and support via a telephone service may represent a feasible approach to reducing unmet needs among cancer caregiver populations.

Trial registration

ACTRN12613000731796; prospectively registered on 02/07/2013.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-017-3961-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Supporting carers to manage pain medication in cancer patients at the end of life: A feasibility trial

BACKGROUND

Carers of people with advanced cancer play a significant role in managing pain medication, yet they report insufficient information and support to do so confidently and competently. There is limited research evidence on the best ways for clinicians to help carers with medication management.

AIMS

To develop a pain medicines management intervention (Cancer Carers Medicines Management) for cancer patients' carers near the end of life and evaluate feasibility and acceptability to nurses and carers. To test the feasibility of trial research procedures and to inform decisions concerning a full-scale randomised controlled trial.

DESIGN

Phase I-II clinical trial. A systematic, evidence-informed participatory method was used to develop CCMM: a nurse-delivered structured conversational process. A two-arm, cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial of Cancer Carers Medicines Management was conducted, with an embedded qualitative study to evaluate participants' experiences of Cancer Carers Medicines Management and trial procedures.

SETTING

Community settings in two study sites.

PARTICIPANTS

Phase I comprises 57 carers, patients and healthcare professionals and Phase II comprises 12 nurses and 15 carers.

RESULTS

A novel intervention was developed. Nurses were recruited and randomised. Carer recruitment to the trial was problematic with fewer than predicted eligible participants, and nurses judged a high proportion unsuitable to recruit into the study. Attrition rates following recruitment were typical for the study population. Cancer Carers Medicines Management was acceptable to carers and nurses who took part, and some benefits were identified.

CONCLUSION

Cancer Carers Medicines Management is a robustly developed medicines management intervention which merits further research to test its effectiveness to improve carers' management of pain medicines with patients at the end of life. The study highlighted aspects of trial design that need to be considered in future research.

The application of crowdsourcing approaches to cancer research: a systematic review

Crowdsourcing is "the practice of obtaining participants, services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, especially via the Internet." (Ranard et al. J. Gen. Intern. Med. 29:187, 2014) Although crowdsourcing has been adopted in healthcare research and its potential for analyzing large datasets and obtaining rapid feedback has recently been recognized, no systematic reviews of crowdsourcing in cancer research have been conducted. Therefore, we sought to identify applications of and explore potential uses for crowdsourcing in cancer research. We conducted a systematic review of articles published between January 2005 and June 2016 on crowdsourcing in cancer research, using PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, PsychINFO, and Embase. Data from the 12 identified articles were summarized but not combined statistically. The studies addressed a range of cancers (e.g., breast, skin, gynecologic, colorectal, prostate). Eleven studies collected data on the Internet using web-based platforms; one recruited participants in a shopping mall using paper-and-pen data collection. Four studies used Amazon Mechanical Turk for recruiting and/or data collection. Study objectives comprised categorizing biopsy images (n = 6), assessing cancer knowledge (n = 3), refining a decision support system (n = 1), standardizing survivorship care-planning (n = 1), and designing a clinical trial (n = 1). Although one study demonstrated that "the wisdom of the crowd" (NCI Budget Fact Book, 2017) could not replace trained experts, five studies suggest that distributed human intelligence could approximate or support the work of trained experts. Despite limitations, crowdsourcing has the potential to improve the quality and speed of research while reducing costs. Longitudinal studies should confirm and refine these findings.

Adherence to Report and Patient Perception of an Interactive App for Managing Symptoms During Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer: Descriptive Study of Logged and Interview Data

Background

Patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer experience symptoms related to both the cancer itself and its treatment, and it is evident that patients with prostate cancer have unmet supportive care needs related to their disease. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the amount of research within the field of mobile health and the use of apps as tools for managing illness. The main challenge is to develop a mobile technology to its full potential of being interactive in real time. The interactive app Interaktor, which aims to identify and manage symptoms in real time includes (1) a function for patients’ assessment of the occurrence, frequency, and distress of symptoms; (2) a connection to a monitoring Web interface; (3) a risk assessment model that sends alerts via text message to health care providers; (4) continuous access to evidence-based self-care advice and links to relevant websites for more information; and (5) graphs for the patients and health care providers to view the history of symptom reporting.

Objective

The aim of the study was to investigate user behavior, adherence to reporting, and the patients’ experiences of using Interaktor during radiotherapy for localized advanced prostate cancer.

Methods

The patients were instructed to report daily during the time of treatment and then for an additional 3 weeks. Logged data from patients’ use of the app were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Interview data about experiences of using the app were analyzed with content analysis.

Results

A total of 66 patients participated in the study. Logged data showed that adherence to daily reporting of symptoms was high (87%). The patients used all the symptoms included in the app. Of the reports, 15.6% generated alerts to the health care providers. Overall, the patients found that it was easy and not particularly time-consuming to send a daily report, and many described it as becoming a routine. Reporting symptoms facilitated reflection on their symptoms and gave them a sense of security. Few technological problems were reported.

Conclusions

The use of Interaktor increased patients’ sense of security and their reflections on their own well-being and thereby served as a supportive tool for the self-management of symptoms during treatment of prostate cancer. Some further development of the app’s content might be beneficial for future use.

A randomized control trial feasibility evaluation of an mHealth intervention for wheelchair skill training among middle-aged and older adults

BACKGROUND

Providing mobility skills training to manual wheelchair (MWC) users can have a positive impact on community participation, confidence and quality of life. Often such training is restricted or not provided at all because of the expense of, and limited access to, occupational and physical therapists before and after discharge. This is particularly true among middle-aged and older adults, who often have limited access to rehabilitation services and require more time to learn motor skills. A monitored MWC skills training home program, delivered using a computer tablet (mHealth), was developed as an alternative approach to service delivery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of implementing this mHealth MWC skills training program among middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

A 2 × 2 factorial design randomized controlled trial (RCT) was used to compare the mHealth intervention and control groups, with additional wheeling time as a second factor. Community-dwelling MWC users aged 55 and older, who had used their MWC for less than two years and propelled with two hands, were recruited. Feasibility outcomes related to process, resources, management and treatment criteria were collected.

RESULTS

Eighteen participants were recruited, with a retention rate of 94%. Mean (±SD) duration for the first and second in-person training sessions were 90.1 ± 20.5 and 62.1 ± 5.5 min, respectively. In the treatment group, 78% achieved the minimum amount of home training (i.e., 300 min) over four weeks and 56% achieved the preferred training threshold (i.e., 600 min). Trainers reported only seven minor protocol deviations. No tablets were lost or damaged and there was one incident of tablet malfunction. No injuries or adverse incidents were reported during data collection or training activities. Participants indicated 98% agreement on the post-treatment benefit questionnaire.

DISCUSSION

Overall, the study protocol enabled implementation of the intervention in a safe, efficient and acceptable manner. Participant recruitment proved to be challenging, particularly gaining access to individuals who might benefit. Resource issue demands were acceptable for administration of the intervention; data collection was more time-consuming than anticipated but could be reduced with minor revisions. Participant retention and home program treatment adherence was high; both participant and trainer burden was acceptable. Treatment group participants reported a positive experience and clinical benefits from training program. The findings suggest a full-scale RCT evaluating the clinical impact of the Enhancing Participation In the Community by improving Wheelchair Skills (EPIC Wheels) intervention is warranted, provided the recruitment issues are addressed through collaborative partnerships and active recruitment strategies.

Nasopharyngeal Carriage of Streptococcus Pneumoniae and Serotypes Indentified among Nursing Home Residents in Comparison to the Elderly and Patients Younger than 65 Years Living in Domestic Environment

INTRODUCTION

In Slovenia, there is little data available on pneumococcal vaccination rates and no data on asymptomatic NPCR and serotypes in the population of nursing home residents in comparison to the elderly living in domestic environment, therefore the goal was to gain these data.

METHODS

A cross sectional epidemiological study was performed. Nasopharyngeal swabs from 151 nursing home residents, 150 elderly living in domestic environment, and 38 adults less than 65 years old were collected twice (in two consecutive years). The swabs were analysed for pneumococcal identification and serotyping. Patient data were collected from medical files and medical history.

RESULTS

No statistically significant differences in NPCR were seen between compared groups in two consecutive years. An average NPCR in two consecutive years in nursing home residents was 1.45%, in the elderly living in domestic environment 0.85%, and in adults less than 65 years old 7.05%. Serotypes identified among nursing home residents were 6B and 9N, among the group of elderly living in domestic environment, 6A and among adults less than 65 years old, 35F, 18C and 3. Pneumococcal vaccination rates were low (3.3% in nursing home residents, 6% in the elderly from domestic environment and 0% in the group of adults less than 65 years old).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggests that NPCR and the proportion of people vaccinated with pneumococcal vaccine among the elderly are low. We identified different serotypes in all groups, only one person was a chronic carrier (serotype 35F).

Practical application of opt-out recruitment methods in two health services research studies

BACKGROUND

Participant recruitment is an ongoing challenge in health research. Recruitment may be especially difficult for studies of access to health care because, even among those who are in care, people using services least often also may be hardest to contact and recruit. Opt-out recruitment methods (in which potential participants are given the opportunity to decline further contact about the study (opt out) following an initial mailing, and are then contacted directly if they have not opted out within a specified period) can be used for such studies. However, there is a dearth of literature on the effort needed for effective opt-out recruitment.

METHODS

In this paper we describe opt-out recruitment procedures for two studies on access to health care within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We report resource requirements for recruitment efforts (number of opt-out packets mailed and number of phone calls made). We also compare the characteristics of study participants to potential participants via t-tests, Fisher's exact tests, and chi-squared tests.

RESULTS

Recruitment rates for our two studies were 12 and 21%, respectively. Across multiple study sites, we had to send between 4.3 and 9.2 opt-out packets to recruit one participant. The number of phone calls required to arrive at a final status for each potentially eligible Veteran (i.e. study participation or the termination of recruitment efforts) were 2.9 and 6.1 in the two studies, respectively. Study participants differed as expected from the population of potentially eligible Veterans based on planned oversampling of certain subpopulations. The final samples of participants did not differ statistically from those who were mailed opt-out packets, with one exception: in one of our two studies, participants had higher rates of mental health service use in the past year than did those mailed opt-out packets (64 vs. 47%).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results emphasize the practicality of using opt-out methods for studies of access to health care. Despite the benefits of these methods, opt-out alone may be insufficient to eliminate non-response bias on key variables. Researchers will need to balance considerations of sample representativeness and feasibility when designing studies investigating access to care.

Community Willingness to Participate in a Dengue Study in Aceh Province, Indonesia

BACKGROUND

Dengue virus infection is the most rapidly spreading vector-borne disease in the world. Essential research on dengue virus transmission and its prevention requires community participation. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the factors that are associated with the willingness of communities in high prevalence areas to participate in dengue research. The aim of this study was to explore factors associated with the willingness of healthy community members in Aceh province, Indonesia, to participate in dengue research that would require phlebotomy.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in nine regencies and municipalities of Aceh from November 2014 to March 2015. Interviews using a set of validated questionnaires were conducted to collect data on demography, history of dengue infection, socioeconomic status, and knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue fever. Two-step logistic regression and Spearman's rank correlation (rs) analysis were used to assess the influence of independent variables on dependent variables. Among 535 participants, less than 20% had a good willingness to participate in the dengue study. The factors associated with good willingness to participate were being female, working as a civil servant, private employee or entrepreneur, having a high socioeconomic status and good knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue. Good knowledge and attitude regarding dengue were positive independent predictors of willingness to participate (OR: 2.30 [95% CI: 1.36-3.90] and 3.73 [95% CI: 2.24-6.21], respectively).

CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE

The willingness to participate in dengue research is very low among community members in Aceh, and the two most important associated factors are knowledge and attitude regarding dengue. To increase participation rate, efforts to improve the knowledge and attitude of community members regarding dengue fever and dengue-related research is required before such studies are launched.