Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 Jul-Aug;17(4):403-10.
doi: 10.1136/jamia.2010.005660.

Effects of a computer-supported interactive tailored patient assessment tool on patient care, symptom distress, and patients' need for symptom management support: a randomized clinical trial

Cornelia M Ruland  1 , Harald H Holte, Jo Røislien, Cathy Heaven, Glenys A Hamilton, Jørn Kristiansen, Heidi Sandbaek, Stein O Kvaløy, Line Hasund, Misoo C Ellison
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of a computer-supported interactive tailored patient assessment tool on patient care, symptom distress, and patients' need for symptom management support: a randomized clinical trial

Cornelia M Ruland et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2010 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effects of a computer-assisted, interactive tailored patient assessment (ITPA) tool in oncology practice on: documented patient care, symptom distress, and patients' need for symptom management support during treatment and rehabilitation.

Design and methods: For this repeated measures clinical trial at a university hospital in Norway, 145 patients starting treatment for leukemia or lymphoma were randomly assigned to either an intervention (n=75) or control group (n=70). Both groups used the ITPA for symptom assessments prior to inpatient and outpatient visits for up to one year. The assessment summary, which displayed patients' self-reported symptoms, problems, and distress in rank-order of the patient's need for support, was provided to physicians and nurses in the intervention group only but not in the control group.

Results: Significantly more symptoms were addressed in the intervention group patient charts versus those of the control group. Symptom distress in the intervention group decreased significantly over time in 11 (58%) of 19 symptom/problem categories versus 2 (10%) for the control group. Need for symptom management support over time also decreased significantly more for the intervention group than the control group in 13 (68%) symptom categories.

Conclusion: This is the first study to show that an ITPA used in an interdisciplinary oncology practice can significantly improve patient-centered care and patient outcomes, including reduced symptom distress and reduced need for symptom management support.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Enrollment, randomization, and follow-up of study participants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Group differences over time on symptom distress including degrees of freedom (df) to reflect numbers of observations and p-values for problem categories with significant group differences.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Group differences over time on patients' prioritized need for symptom management support. Trends in patients' prioritized need for symptom management support over time are shown for both groups with p-values for categories that have significant group differences.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Newell S, Sanson-Fisher RW, Girgis A, et al. How well do medical oncologists' perceptions reflect their patients' reported physical and psychosocial problems? Data from a survey of five oncologists. Cancer 1998;83:1640–51 - PubMed
    1. Bruera E, Sweeney C, Calder K, et al. Patient preferences versus physician perceptions of treatment decisions in cancer care. J Clin Oncol 2001;19:2883–5 - PubMed
    1. Wenrich MD. Dying patients' need for emotional support and personalized care from physicians: perspectives of patients with terminal illness, families, and health care providers. J Pain Symptom Manage 2003;25:236–46 - PubMed
    1. Chang VT, Hwang SS, Feuerman M, et al. Symptom and quality of life survey of medical oncology patients at a veterans affairs medical center: a role for symptom assessment. Cancer 2000;88:1175–83 - PubMed
    1. Butow PN, Brown RF, Cogar S, et al. Oncologists' reactions to cancer patients' verbal cues. Psychooncology 2002;11:47–58 - PubMed

Publication types