Empower project

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    The EMPOWER Project: Evaluating a Patient Designed Tool To Reduce Harm From Cancer Associated Thrombosis

  • IRAS ID

    237604

  • Contact name

    Simon Noble

  • Contact email

    NobleSI1@cardiff.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Cardiff University

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 6 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Cancer Associated Thrombosis (CAT) is a common complication in one’s cancer journey, where a blood clot forms in the deep veins which may break off and lodge in the lungs. It is estimated that 20% of patients experience CAT, which is the commonest cause of cancer death, second only to cancer progression.
    The EMPOWER Project seeks to see whether a video explaining the risks of CAT helps patients recognize symptoms of CAT, helps patients present to their clinician earlier if they have symptoms, and contributes to patients' feelings of support throughout their treatment.
    The study will first survey 100 patients who have seen the video, and 100 patients who have not seen the video to see whether there is a difference in levels of understanding of what CAT is.
    The second phase will involve interviewing 10 patients receiving Systemic Anti Cancer Therapy (SACT) diagnosed with CAT, and 10 patients who are receiving SACT but have not been diagnosed with CAT. These interviews will explore how patients responded to the video in terms of feelings of support, and whether they felt informed enough about their treatments.
    The third phase will involve interviewing 10 nurses who work in a site that shows the CAT video as part of practice in chemotherapy clinics, and 10 nurses whose site does not regularly show the CAT video. The interviews are designed to see how nurses feel about the video in terms of whether it adequately informs patients, and is a good resource.
    Finally, this study will analyse clinical data over the course of the study to see whether the implementation of the video into practice has had an impact on the speed at which patients are referred for a scan, and whether the scans had a positive result or a negative result for CAT.

  • REC name

    HSC REC B

  • REC reference

    19/NI/0043

  • Date of REC Opinion

    15 Mar 2019

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion