NCT00845247

The Effect of Case Management in Complex Cancer Pathways

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 280 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Aarhus · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Introduction: Case management (CM) has been proposed as a method for optimizing the course of treatment for complicated cancer patients. However evidence of the effect of CM is limited and methodologically rigorous research is needed. Aim: To analyze effects of Nurse CM in complicated cancer care. Methods: The study is designed as a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) including approximately 280 colorectal cancer patients. Intervention group patients will be offered usual medical treatment plus supportive intervention from a case manager. Control group patients will receive usual medical and supportive treatment. The intervention: Case managers are registered nurses and possess thorough knowledge of cancer treatment and pathways. Core intervention elements: Planned and ad hoc personal and telephone contacts, surveillance of care pathways, coordination and dissemination of care plan (including transfer of patient-specific information to other departments and general practice). Primary outcomes: Patient evaluations of care pathways and "Quality of Life" (questionnaires). Secondary outcomes: Use of health care services and care process measures (The National Health Insurance Service Registry and The National Patient Registry; and GPs' evaluations of continuity of care (questionnaire). Schedule: * "Case management used to optimize cancer care pathways: A systematic Review" has been published in BMC Health Services Research. * The CM manual has been written. Questionnaires are under development and pilot testing. * Two case managers have been appointed 1. January 2009. * After training and pilot testing of the intervention the RCT will begin in March 2009. Inclusion period is 12 months.

Conditions

• Colonic Neoplasms
• Rectal Neoplasms

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Nurse case management	Intervention group patients are offered the support of a nurse case manager throughout their course of treatment.

Timeline

• Start date: 2009-03-01
• Primary completion: 2011-01-01
• Completion: 2012-01-01
• First posted: 2009-02-18
• Last updated: 2012-08-31

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Denmark