Interaction Analysis in H&N cancer consultations

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Emotional expression of head and neck cancer patients and consultant response during follow-up consultations.

  • IRAS ID

    171985

  • Contact name

    Simon N Rogers

  • Contact email

    simonn.rogers@aintree.nhs.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Aintree Hospital NHS Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 3 months, days

  • Research summary

    Following diagnosis and treatment, HNC patients still have many concerns related to adjustment. However, they often do not directly express their emotional concerns, making it difficult for doctors to identify them during consultations. This study is designed to arrive at a more detailed understanding of how patients express their concerns, especially recurrence fears. This is important to determine so that clinicians can manage their advice to patients in the best way possible.
    The VR-CoDES will be used to code patient expression of emotional concerns and identify the types of responses used by the clinician. The VR-CoDES has been validated by an international group of professional researchers and medical specialists, and the inter-rater reliability has been well established.
    A short leaflet will provide patients with background information about fear of recurrence, a key concern that many patients have. It is important to assess the influence of this form of input on the patients.
    The Head and Neck Cancer Patients Concerns Inventory (PCI) is a patient-reported outcome tool which will be used to collect data about the concerns patients wish to talk about during consultations. Along with the UoW-QoL and Distress Thermometer, this will be collected before the consultation.
    After the consultation patients will indicate how satisfied they were with the level of empathy expressed by the consultant using the CARE measure and complete 4 questions about fear of cancer recurrence.
    This is an exploratory, non-randomised study investigating the content and pitch of emotional distress of HNC patients and how this relates to the type and pitch of consultant responses to these concerns. The inclusion of the PCI is a method to encourage patients to raise their concerns and enable a detailed study and improved understanding of patient’s interaction behaviour of their concerns in the out-patient follow up clinic.
    The study is organized into 4 non-concurrent blocks: 1) PCI not completed 2) PCI completed but withheld from consultant 3a) PCI completed and given to consultant + comparison leaflet 3b) PCI completed and given to consultant + information leaflet. The consultations will be audiorecorded for data analysis.

  • REC name

    North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    15/NW/0173

  • Date of REC Opinion

    16 Mar 2015

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion