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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05625906

Advance Care Planning Training for Nurses

The aims of this study are to examine the effectiveness of a multi-media experiential training programme in advance care planning (ACP) for nursing staff in acute care settings. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* can the programme enhance nurses' decision-support skills * can the programme strengthen nurses' knowledge and confidence, and improve their attitude toward ACP?

Researchers will compare the participants in the intervention group (receive training programme) with those who are in the control group (receive no intervention) to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.

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Key information

Conditions

Advance Care Planning

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

United Christian Hospital, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong

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About this study

The study adopts a cluster randomised controlled trial with 12 weeks (T2) and 24 weeks (T3) follow-ups. A total of 234 eligible nurses working in 26 acute care hospital wards will be randomised at ward level in a 1:1 ratio into either control or intervention arms. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, we will conduct path analysis to assess the role of nurses' knowledge, attitudes and confidence on the nurses' skill performance on decision support after the intervention.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • registered nurse with at least two years' clinical experience

Exclusion criteria

  • had prior specialty training in Advance Care Planning communication.

Treatment and study plan

Multi-media experiential training programme

Other
  • Webpage and mobile applications of training material on ACP, to be offered four weeks before the workshop
  • A three-hour multimedia workshop (8-10 nurses per group) including enhanced lectures and a role play encounter with standardised patients. Immediate feedback on their quality of decision support skills will be given. The workshops will be delivered by an experienced advance practice nurse with a palliative care specialty.
  • Writing a reflective journal after the role play with standardised patients

Primary outcomes

  1. Nurse's decision support skills as assessed by the Brief Decision Support Analysis Tool (DSAT10)

    Time frame: Baseline

    DSAT10 instrument is an observational feedback tool for evaluating decisional support interactions between health care workers and patients. The DSAT-10 includes 16 items divided into five domains of: Decision-Making Status; Knowledge of Options, Risks, and Benefits; Values Associated with Outcomes of Options. Scores range from zero to ten, with higher scores indicating more decisional support being verbalized during the patient-provider interaction.

  2. Nurse's decision support skills as assessed by the Brief Decision Support Analysis Tool (DSAT10)

    Time frame: immediate post-intervention

    DSAT10 instrument is an observational feedback tool for evaluating decisional support interactions between health care workers and patients. The DSAT-10 includes 16 items divided into five domains of: Decision-Making Status; Knowledge of Options, Risks, and Benefits; Values Associated with Outcomes of Options. Scores range from zero to ten, with higher scores indicating more decisional support being verbalized during the patient-provider interaction.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Nurses' attitudes towards Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: Baseline

    Nurses' attitudes towards ACP will be measured by nine five-point Likert scale items with 1=strongly disagree and 5= strongly agree. Higher scores indicate a more positive attitude. The scale was developed and validated by Putman-Casdorph et al . The nine items cover topics such as the perceived helpfulness of ACP, and worries about the legal consequences of limiting treatment.

  2. Nurses' attitudes towards Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: immediate post-intervention

    Nurses' attitudes towards ACP will be measured by nine five-point Likert scale items with 1=strongly disagree and 5= strongly agree. Higher scores indicate a more positive attitude. The scale was developed and validated by Putman-Casdorph et al . The nine items cover topics such as the perceived helpfulness of ACP, and worries about the legal consequences of limiting treatment.

  3. Nurses' attitudes towards Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: 12 weeks post-intervention

    Nurses' attitudes towards ACP will be measured by nine five-point Likert scale items with 1=strongly disagree and 5= strongly agree. Higher scores indicate a more positive attitude. The scale was developed and validated by Putman-Casdorph et al . The nine items cover topics such as the perceived helpfulness of ACP, and worries about the legal consequences of limiting treatment.

  4. Nurses' knowledge of Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: Baseline

    Knowledge of advance care planning and advance directives will be assessed by a 10-item true / false questionnaire which is developed taking reference with Siu et al. and Yee et al. The knowledge test will be validated by an expert panel including academics and clinicians.

  5. Nurses' knowledge of Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: immediate post-intervention

    Knowledge of advance care planning and advance directives will be assessed by a 10-item true / false questionnaire which is developed taking reference with Siu et al. and Yee et al. The knowledge test will be validated by an expert panel including academics and clinicians.

  6. Nurses' knowledge of Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: 12 weeks post-intervention

    Knowledge of advance care planning and advance directives will be assessed by a 10-item true / false questionnaire which is developed taking reference with Siu et al. and Yee et al. The knowledge test will be validated by an expert panel including academics and clinicians.

  7. Nurses' knowledge of Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: 24 weeks post-intervention

    Knowledge of advance care planning and advance directives will be assessed by a 10-item true / false questionnaire which is developed taking reference with Siu et al. and Yee et al. The knowledge test will be validated by an expert panel including academics and clinicians.

  8. Nurses' level of confidence to conduct Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: Baseline

    Nurses' level of confidence to conduct ACP will be measured by a single item five-point Likert scale with 1= not confident at all to 5 = extremely confident .

  9. Nurses' level of confidence to conduct Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: immediate post-intervention

    Nurses' level of confidence to conduct ACP will be measured by a single item five-point Likert scale with 1= not confident at all to 5 = extremely confident .

  10. Nurses' level of confidence to conduct Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: 12 weeks post-intervention

    Nurses' level of confidence to conduct ACP will be measured by a single item five-point Likert scale with 1= not confident at all to 5 = extremely confident .

  11. Nurses' level of confidence to conduct Advance Care Planning

    Time frame: 24 weeks post-intervention

    Nurses' level of confidence to conduct ACP will be measured by a single item five-point Likert scale with 1= not confident at all to 5 = extremely confident .

  12. Nurses' satisfaction with the training programme

    Time frame: immediate post intervention

    Nurses' satisfaction with the training programme will be assessed by an eight-item five-point Likert scale with 1=strongly disagree and 5= strongly agree at post-test only. Higher scores indicate higher satisfaction. The scale is developed with reference to So et al. and has been validated by an expert panel including academics and clinicians.

  13. Actual experience of Advance Care Planning in the last 12 weeks

    Time frame: Baseline

    Actual experience in ACP discussion will be measured by this question: "How many times have you participated in ACP discussion with your patients in the last 12 weeks?" In addition, documentation of the ACP discussion in the last 12 weeks will be retrieved from patients' medical records.

  14. Actual experience of Advance Care Planning in the last 12 weeks

    Time frame: 12 weeks post-intervention

    Actual experience in ACP discussion will be measured by this question: "How many times have you participated in ACP discussion with your patients in the last 12 weeks?" In addition, documentation of the ACP discussion in the last 12 weeks will be retrieved from patients' medical records.

  15. Actual experience of Advance Care Planning in the last 12 weeks

    Time frame: 24 weeks post-intervention

    Actual experience in ACP discussion will be measured by this question: "How many times have you participated in ACP discussion with your patients in the last 12 weeks?" In addition, documentation of the ACP discussion in the last 12 weeks will be retrieved from patients' medical records.

  16. Adherence to patients' expressed preference for care

    Time frame: 12 weeks post-intervention

    measured by this question: Please circle the following to describe health care professionals' adherence to patients' expressed preference for care :

  17. Adherence to patients' expressed preference for care

    Time frame: 24 weeks post-intervention

    measured by this question: Please circle the following to describe health care professionals' adherence to patients' expressed preference for care :

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Other

Registry information

Official study title

The Effectiveness of a Multi-media Experiential Training Programme in Advance Care Planning for Nurses Working in Acute Care Settings

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Nov 23, 2022
Registry last updated
Apr 14, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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