Clinical trial · Interventional
Communication During Medical Consultations in Singapore -Pilot
Training Oncologists and Empowering Patients in Affective Communication During Medical Consultations in Singapore (TEAMS) - A Pilot Study
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Despite advanced cancer patients and their caregivers frequently experiencing psychological distress and wanting to know about their prognosis, oncologists rarely respond with empathy and provide adequate information regarding patient prognosis. We aim to address the communication gap during consultations by developing an Oncologist E-Learning Communications Skills Training Program guiding physicians on how to recognize and respond to patient/caregiver distress and to disclose prognosis; and a Patient Prompt Sheet to encourage discussions of psychological distress and prognosis. We will assess the feasibility of delivering this two-component intervention program within a cancer center in Singapore through a 2-arm randomized controlled trial in which 8 oncologists will be randomly assigned to Control Arm (n=4) and Intervention Arm (n=4). Oncologists in the intervention arm will receive the E-Learning Program. Their patients will also receive the Patient Prompt Sheet before their consultation with oncologist. After completion of oncologist intervention we will audio-record and survey 3 patients with Stage IV cancer and their caregivers per oncologist before and after their consultations. If the study is shown to be feasible and acceptable, then its effectiveness will be assessed in a larger trial.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communication Research | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communication Training Program and Patient Prompt Sheet | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Intervention Arm
- description
- Communication Training Program and Patient Prompt Sheet
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Communication Training Program and Patient Prompt Sheet
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Control Arm
- description
- Oncologists will not receive the communication skills training program and their patients will not receive the Patient Prompt Sheet
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Assess feasibility and acceptability of intervention
- timeFrame
- up to 3 months
- description
- Measured by proportion of intervention arm oncologists completing their intervention
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 21 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: The inclusion criteria for oncologists are 1. All consultants and senior residents/registrars in the Departments of Medical Oncology at National Cancer Centre, Singapore 2. Able to allow audio-recording during consultation The inclusion criteria for patients are 1. Age ≥ 21 years old 2. Patients who are consulting an oncologist who is participating in the study 3. Patients who are Singaporeans or Singapore Permanent Residents 4. Diagnosis of stage IV cancer (with metastasis to visceral organs) 5. Able to allow audio-recording during consultation Exclusion Criteria: The exclusion criteria for oncologists are a. Rejecting audio-recording during consultation The exclusion criteria for patients are 1. Age ≤ 21 years old 2. Patients who are not Singaporeans or Singapore Permanent Residents 3. Rejecting audio-recording during consultation 4. Patients with psychiatric or cognitive disorder.
References
Publications (0)
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