Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28851337›Full record

Trial reportBMC palliative care2017

Which online format is most effective for assisting Baby Boomers to complete advance directives? A randomised controlled trial of email prompting versus online education module.

Sandra L Bradley, Jennifer J Tieman, Richard J Woodman, Paddy A Phillips

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC palliative care, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Sandra L BradleySchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Flinders University South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia. sandra.bradley@flinders.edu.au.
Jennifer J TiemanSchool of Health Sciences, Flinders University, South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia.
Richard J WoodmanEpidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Flinders University South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia.
Paddy A PhillipsSchool of Medicine, Flinders University South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCompletion of Advance Directives (ADs), being financial and healthcare proxy or instructional documents, is relatively uncommon in Australia. Efforts to increase completion rates include online education and prompting which past literature suggests may be effective. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess computer-based online AD information and email prompting for facilitating completion of ADs by Australian Baby Boomers (b.1946-1965) as well as factors which may impede or assist completion of these documents by this generation when using the online environment.

methodsTwo hundred eighty-two men and women aged 49-68 years at the time of the trial were randomly assigned to one of 3 intervention groups: education module only; email prompt only; email prompt and education module; and a control group with no education module and no email prompt. The randomized controlled trial was undertaken in participants' location of choice. Randomization and allocation to trial group were carried out by a central computer system. The primary analysis was based on a final total of 189 participants who completed the trial (n = 52 education module only; n = 44 email prompt only; n = 46 email prompt and education module; and n = 47 control). The primary outcome was the number of individuals in any group completing any of the 4 legal ADs in South Australia within 12 months or less from entry into the trial. Frequency analysis was conducted on secondary outcomes such as reasons for non-completion.

resultsMean follow-up post-intervention at 12 months showed that 7% of overall participants completed one or more of the 4 legal ADs but without significant difference between groups (delta = 1%, p = .48 Prompt/Non-Prompt groups, delta = 5%, p = .44 education/non-education groups). Reasons offered for non-completion were too busy (26%) and/or it wasn't the right time (21%).

conclusionOur results suggest that neither email prompting nor provision of additional educational material online were sufficient to significantly impact AD completion rates for this generational cohort. Research with this cohort over longer periods of time exploring online preferences for engagement with ADs as they age may provide better insight into using this environment for ADs with this group.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616000425493 .

Indexed as

User-Computer InterfaceAdvance DirectivesAgedAustraliaCohort StudiesEducation, DistanceElectronic MailFemaleHumansInternetMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesAdvance care directivesBaby BoomersCompletion ratesEducationEmailOnlineRandomized controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID28851337
PMCPMC5576351

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.