Internet Support for Cancer Patients (WebChoice)
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Purpose
Cancer patients often experience multiple physical, functional and psychosocial symptoms, but have limited support while being at home between treatments and during rehabilitation. WebChoice is a novel Internet support system that extends traditional health services into patients' homes. The system allows patients to monitor symptoms over time, and provides access to evidence-based self-management options tailored to their reported symptoms as well as a communication area where patients can ask questions to a clinical nurse specialist in cancer care and exchange experiences with other cancer patients.
This randomized clinical trial:
- Tests the effects of WebChoice on primary outcomes of symptom distress, quality of life, depression and health service use, and secondary outcomes of self-efficacy, social support . We will also analyze:
- Relationships between primary and secondary outcomes;
- How patients' symptom distress varies over time;
- Patients' preferences for participation in decision making about symptom management
- How patients use WebChoice, such as frequency of use, duration, most used components;
- How patients' experience WebChoice's usefulness and ease of use;
- Patterns and content of patients' communication with the cancer nurse and other patients.
325 cancer patients (189 breast cancer and 136 prostate cancer patients) were recruited from throughout Norway through advertisements and invitation letters and the Norwegian Cancer Registry. Patients were randomly assigned to WebChoice or the control group that received usual care. Patients are being followed with 5 repeated measures over 12 months. Data are being collected through questionnaires, from system logs, and from interviews that were conducted in subset of experimental group patients. The primary hypothesis will be tested with Repeated Measures ANCOVA techniques. The other research questions will be answered using various inferential and descriptive techniques and through content analysis of messages and transcripts of patient interviews. This study can make a significant contribution to reduce unnecessary suffering and improve the quality of life for a large group of cancer patients.
| Condition | Intervention |
|---|---|
|
Cancer Breast Cancer Prostate Cancer |
Behavioral: WebChoice |
| Study Type: | Interventional |
| Study Design: | Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Masking: Open Label Primary Purpose: Supportive Care |
| Official Title: | A Randomized Clincial Trial to Evaluate the Effects of an Internett-based Support System for Cancer Patients on Symptom Distress, Depression, and Quality of Life. |
- Symptom distress [ Time Frame: prospective, one year, repeated measures ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Quality of life [ Time Frame: prospective, one year, repeated measures ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Depression [ Time Frame: prospective, one year, repeated measures ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Self-efficacy [ Time Frame: prospective, one year, repeated measures ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Social support [ Time Frame: prospective, one year, repeated measures ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
| Enrollment: | 325 |
| Study Start Date: | May 2006 |
| Study Completion Date: | November 2008 |
| Primary Completion Date: | August 2008 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure) |
| Arms | Assigned Interventions |
|---|---|
|
Experimental: 1
Patients had access to the Internet support system WebChoice that allowed them to monitor symptoms over time, and provided access to evidence-based self-management options tailored to their reported symptoms as well as to a communication area where patients could ask questions to a clinical nurse specialist in cancer care and exchange experiences with other cancer patients.
|
Behavioral: WebChoice
Patients in the experimental group had over the study period access to the Internet support system WebChoice that allowed them to monitor symptoms over time, and provided access to evidence-based self-management options tailored to their reported symptoms as well as a communication area where patients could ask questions to a clinical nurse specialist in cancer care and exchange experiences with other cancer patients. Patients in the control group received usual care Other Name: Internet support
|
|
No Intervention: 2
The control group receiving usual care
|
Eligibility| Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years and older |
| Genders Eligible for Study: | Both |
| Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Above 18 years
- Starting or currently undergoing treatment for breast or prostate cancer
- Internet access at home
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients who had received radiation on the brain as this may have affected their abilities to reliably report their symptoms.
Contacts and Locations| Norway | |
| Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet | |
| Oslo, Norway, 0027 | |
| Principal Investigator: | Cornelia M Ruland, PhD | Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet |
More Information
Additional Information:
Publications:
| Responsible Party: | Cornelia Ruland, Professor, Oslo University Hospital |
| ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00710658 History of Changes |
| Other Study ID Numbers: | NCS 06067/001 |
| Study First Received: | July 3, 2008 |
| Last Updated: | May 22, 2013 |
| Health Authority: | Norway:National Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics |
Keywords provided by Oslo University Hospital:
|
Internet support Tailored information Self-management |
Quality of life Online messaging Online discussion groups |
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
|
Breast Neoplasms Prostatic Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Neoplasms Breast Diseases |
Skin Diseases Genital Neoplasms, Male Urogenital Neoplasms Genital Diseases, Male Prostatic Diseases |
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on June 18, 2013