Behavioural economic interventions to embed palliative care in community oncology (BE-EPIC): study protocol for the BE-EPIC randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Palliative care (PC) is a medical specialty focusing on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of serious illnesses such as cancer. Early outpatient specialty PC concurrent with cancer-directed treatment improves quality of life and symptom burden, decreases aggressive end-of-life care and is an evidence-based practice endorsed by national guidelines. However, nearly half of patients with advanced cancer do not receive specialty PC prior to dying. The objective of this study is to test the impact of an oncologist-directed default PC referral orders on rates of PC utilisation and patient quality of life.

Methods and analysis

This single-centre two-arm pragmatic randomised trial randomises four clinician-led pods, caring for approximately 250 patients who m

SUBMITTER: Parikh RB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10040061 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature