NCT00859768

The Effectiveness of the Screening Inventory of Psychosocial Problems (SIPP) in Cancer Patients

The Effectiveness of the Screening Inventory of Psychosocial Problems (SIPP) in Cancer Patients Treated With Radiotherapy.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 568 (actual)
• Sponsor: Netherlands Open University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of the Screening Inventory of Psychosocial Problems (SIPP) in consultation settings with respect to early recognition and treatment of psychosocial distress, communication between patients and physicians, and psychological distress and quality of life in cancer patients treated with radiotherapy (RT).

Detailed description

Background: The Screening Inventory of Psychosocial Problems (SIPP) is a short, validated self-administered questionnaire to identify psychosocial problems in cancer patients. The one page 24-item questionnaire assesses physical complaints, psychological complaints, and social and sexual problems. There is very little known about the effectiveness of using the SIPP in consultation settings. Aim: The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that using the SIPP may prevent underdiagnosis of early symptoms reflecting psychosocial problems, should facilitate communication between physicians and patients about psychosocial distress and may contribute to adequate referral to relevant psychosocial caregivers. Methods: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trail (CRCT) is developed using a Solomon four-group design (two intervention and two control groups) to evaluate the effects of using the SIPP. Radiotherapists instead of patients are at random allocated to experimental or control groups. All included patients are randomized into the groups with and without pre-measurement. Psychosocial distress, quality of life, patients' satisfaction about communication with their radiotherapist during first consultation and the number and type of referred patients to psychosocial caregivers are assessed. Self-administered assessments are conducted at four times: pre-test before first consultation (T1), and post-tests directly following the first consultation (T2), three months (T3) and one year after (T4) the first measurement. Medical information are gathered from patients' medical records. Furthermore, a process evaluation is carried out. Relevance: Using the SIPP may lead to a reduction of psychosocial problems and better quality of life, both on the short and long term. If the SIPP proves to be effective, the results of this project may contribute to motivate health care workers to use the SIPP as a standard method for early detection of psychosocial distress in oncology departments in the Netherlands and abroad.

Conditions

• Breast Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Bladder Cancer
• Cervix Cancer
• Cancer of Endometrium
• Cancer of Skin
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Colorectal Cancer

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Questionnaire administration	The patient receives the SIPP at two different time points during their RT period. The first time point is before the first consultation with the radiotherapist (before starting RT) and the second time point is before the last consultation with the radiotherapist at the end of the RT period. At both time points, the SIPP is handed over to the radiotherapist at the start of the consultation. The radiotherapist screens the scores of the SIPP to get an overview of potential psychosocial problems and patient's needs of psychosocial care.

Timeline

• Start date: 2008-04-01
• Primary completion: 2010-10-01
• Completion: 2010-10-01
• First posted: 2009-03-11
• Last updated: 2011-03-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Netherlands