Randomized trial of a hospice video decision aid for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers.

Abstract

42 Background: Although hospice provides high-quality end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer, the service remains underutilized in part due to lack of adequate information provided to patients and families about hospice care. Methods: We conducted a single-site randomized clinical trial of a hospice video decision aid versus a verbal description in 150 hospitalized patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers. Patients without an available caregiver were eligible to participate. Intervention participants (75 patients; 18 caregivers) received a verbal description about hospice plus a six-minute video depicting hospice care. Control participants (75 patients; 26 caregivers) received only the verbal description. The primary endpoint was patient preference for hospice care immediately after the intervention, adjusting for baseline preferences. Secondary outcomes included patient and caregiver knowledge and perceptions of hospice, and hospice utilization. Results: Between 2/2017 and 1/2019, we enrolled 55.7% (150/269) of potentially eligible patients and 44 caregivers. Post-intervention, patients assigned to the video group were more likely to prefer hospice care (86.7% vs. 82.7%, OR = 2.85, P = 0.08), but this was not statistically significant. Patients in the video group reported greater knowledge about hospice (B = 0.50, P = 0.024) and were less likely to endorse that hospice care is only about death (6.7% vs. 21.6%, OR = 0.28, P = 0.035). Among patients who died (n = 116), those assigned to the intervention were more likely to utilize hospice (85.2% vs. 63.6%, P = 0.01) and had a longer hospice length-of-stay (LOS) (median 12 vs. 3 days, P < 0.001). Post-intervention, caregivers assigned to the video were more likely to prefer hospice care for their loved ones (94.4% vs. 65.4%, P = 0.031), reported greater knowledge about hospice (B = 1.94, P < 0.001), and were less likely to endorse that hospice care is only about death (0.0% vs. 23.1%, P = 0.066). Conclusions: Patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers who viewed a hospice video decision aid were more informed about hospice, reported more favorable perceptions of hospice, and were more likely to utilize hospice and have a longer hospice LOS. Clinical trial information: NCT03040102.