Just in Case Drugs Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Just in Case Drugs Study (JIC Study)
IRAS ID
271401
Contact name
Stephen Barclay
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Cambridge
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NIHR SPCR-2018-146, National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
‘Just in Case’ (JIC) drugs are injectable drugs issued to a named patient, in advance of clinical need, to be given by nurses or general practitioners (GPs) if symptoms such as pain, sickness or agitation arise in the last days of life. Widespread practice in the UK, JIC drugs seeks to reduce crisis hospital admissions and improve symptom control at home.
The prescribing of JIC drugs is supported by national policy and is considered best practice in end of life care, but there are concerns that it may not be appropriate in all cases and it mainly based on the views of doctors and nurses that it is reassuring to patients and their family and friends. To date no research study has looked into how patients and their family and friends understand and experience JIC drug practice in the UK and what they think about it.
We will use a case study approach in which we will invite between 8 to 12 patients and their informal care giver (family or friends) to tell us about how they view, understand and experience JIC drugs over time through research interviews. We will also look into the views of these patients, informal care givers and healthcare professionals about their involvement in discussions and decisions to prescribe and administer JIC drugs. We will approach people to consider taking part through the patients’ clinical care teams.
We will interview the patient who has been prescribed JIC drugs, and their informal care giver between 1 and 3 times over the course of 2 to 4 months. We will interview one GP, specialist nurse or community nurse involved in each patient’s care, one time, normally after the last patient and informal care giver interviews. With patients’ permission we will look at their GP held records to discover the circumstances in which the drugs were prescribed and then given to the patient.
Interviews will have an order of questions that are flexible and will be recorded. The information collected will have names and places removed to make it impossible to identify who took part. The analysis will look for patterns and differences in views, experiences and understanding. Findings will be shared widely with local service providers and the public to help inform future end-of-life care practice.
This study is part of Ben Bowers’ PhD research and is funded by his award of a National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research PhD studentship.
Interviews will have an order of questions that are flexible and will be recorded. The information collected will have names and places removed to make it impossible to identify who took part. The analysis will look for patterns and differences in views, experiences and understanding. Findings will be shared widely with local service providers and the public to help inform future end-of-life care practice.
This study is part of Ben Bowers’ PhD research and is funded by his award of a National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research PhD studentship.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EE/0361
Date of REC Opinion
20 Feb 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion