11 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This is a behavioral trial study to pilot test a stress management intervention for people with cancer who are undergoing routine cancer scans. The study will involve two pilot testing phases. Initial feasibility will be determined in an Open Trial phase, to inform any needed revisions to the intervention and/or protocol prior to a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial phase. The Open Trial phase is an unblinded, single-site, single-arm open trial (n=10). The Pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) phase is an unblinded, single-site, feasibility pilot randomized controlled trial (n=50).
Resident education on breaking bad news and conducting end of life conversations has been shown to improve comfort levels with having these conversations. Interventions with OB/GYN residents specifically have used a combination of didactics, resident role-playing and ultimately interaction with standardized patients with feedback from palliative care specialists. These interventions can be costly and also are not practical during the pandemic training environment where resident has transitioned to a virtual curriculum. While the didactics portions of this previously proven curriculum can be done virtually, the standardized patient interactions are challenging to replicate. Additionally, one of the key changes to patient care that has emerged during the pandemic is restrictive hospital and clinic visitor policies. Care providers must now have the ability to have difficult conversations and break bad news to family members over the phone rather than in person. Additionally, there has been an increasing reliance on telehealth visits. There are no currently studied training interventions in obstetrics and gynecology that address these skills.
The purpose of this study is to improve motivation for reading by implementing a computer-based newsletter and examine the effects on the literacy engagement and reading achievement of middle school-aged students. Research questions to be answered: 1. Does the provision of a computer-based newsletter intervention improve literacy engagement on middle school students in comparison to their pretest scores? 2. Does the provision of computer-based newsletter intervention improve the reading achievement of middle school students in comparison to their pretest scores?
The study will examine the possibility of reducing sedentary behavior (SB) in African Americans with MS. SB consists of any waking activities that are done lying or sitting and do not demand significant physical effort (e.g., watching television, using the computer). SB is a major public health issue because it is associated with mortality and higher probabilities of presenting with health conditions and morbidity. There is indication that SB is related to physical disability, which is the inability of performing daily activities independently. This outcome is of high concern for persons with MS, especially those from underserved groups, such as African Americans. Thus, reducing the amount of time that people with MS spend in SB is important, but it is hard to find ways of doing so in large groups of people with MS. One possibility is to use text-messages to inform people about the necessity and benefits of interrupting SB by standing up, walking, or doing another activity. Text-messages are an ideal way to prompt behavior change because almost everyone owns a cellphone/smartphone in today's world. Considering this potential, the investigators will be studying whether or not it is possible to have a small group of African Americans with MS spend less time in SB by sending informative text-messages prompting individuals to stand-up and move around. This study will be used to inform the development of a much larger study that will aim to reduce SB in a very large sample of persons with MS.
The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of training in Breaking Bad News (BBN) skills. We hypothesize that given little or no formal training in breaking bad news, obstetric providers will benefit from a curriculum of teaching breaking bad news techniques, but will benefit more from a simulation teaching technique than from a lecture in breaking bad news techniques. The investigators also hypothesize that providers who have undergone breaking bad news simulation will receive improved scores after the simulation debriefing compared to their pre-simulation scores, and their improvement with be greater than the control group.
This study will compare changes in body composition (lean mass, fat, and bone)and parent ratings of quality of life in 5-19 Year Olds as a function of participation in one of four versions of the Good NEWS 4 Kids Program (GN4K).
Effective communication is a critical component of managing pandemic outbreaks like COVID-19. This study explores COVID-19 related public knowledge, perceptions, belief in public health recommendations, intent to comply with public health recommendations, trust in information sources and preferred information sources. Participants are invited to include detailed free-text answers to make sure their COVID-19 experiences are heard.
The goal of this research study is to learn if enrolling in a program with a partner that involves monitoring each other's physical activity and providing support to one another can help both participants be more physically active.
Honest, clear, and empathetic communication between pediatric oncologists (POs) and parents of children with cancer (POCCs) is imperative to facilitating therapeutic alliance and ensuring that medical management aligns with the families' goals of care. Communication is particularly important during conversations about disease reevaluation, which often necessitate parental decision-making in the context of emotional distress. POs employ a spectrum of communication styles and strategies during challenging conversations, and there is no consensus regarding linguistic or thematic metrics for high quality communication of upsetting information. In order to better understand how POs communicate difficult information to POCCs, the investigators propose a pilot study designed to accomplish the following primary aim: Primary Objective: * To identify recurrent verbal and nonverbal (e.g. the use of pauses/silence) communication techniques employed by POs in the delivery of difficult prognostic information to POCCs through content analysis of audio-recorded conversations between POs and parents of children with high risk cancer at the time of disease reevaluation. The study expects to enroll up to: 80 patient participants, 80 parents, and 15 primary pediatric oncologists (total = 175). Non-primary oncologist members of the clinical care team, extended family members, or friends of the family may also participate, if they choose to do so.
Skin cancer risk is largely determined by sun exposure during childhood. This study determines the effectiveness of a mailed intervention designed to increase sun protection for children age 6-9 years old. The intervention includes newsletters for parents that include risk information tailored to each child. Also included are sun protection resources such as a swim shirt, a sun hat, and sunscreen. Participants receive the intervention over 3 consecutive years, and data collection includes telephone interviews and skin exams. The study hypothesis is that receipt of the intervention will result in improved sun protection of the child.
This study will evaluate a program to prevent learning problems in children. The program is an inexpensive public health outreach program designed for families living in poverty and is administered through pediatricians' offices and clinics.