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Not yet recruiting NCT07574281

Effectiveness and Implementation of the DINKNESH Digital Palliative Care Tool in Ethiopia

No phase Interventional Palliative Care

For patients and families

In plain language

An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.

What is being studied
The protocol lists: DINKNESH App, Paper based tool.
Who it may be relevant to
Registry conditions: Palliative Care. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
What needs checking
Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
Where it takes place
Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
Next step
Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →

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Official title

Effectiveness and Implementation Determinants of the DINKNESH App Compared to Paper-Based Assessment Tools for Palliative Care: A Mixed-Methods Cluster Randomized Trial in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a digital health app called DINKNESH is effective for palliative care identification compared to traditional paper-based assessment tools. It will also look at the factors that help or hinder the use of this app in primary care settings. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the DINKNESH app improve palliative care assessments compared to paper forms? What are the main barriers and facilitators for Health Extension Workers when using the app in their daily work? We will compare the DINKNESH app to standard paper-based tools to see if digital tools improve clinical assessment and implementation. Participants will: Be assessed for palliative care needs using either the DINKNESH mobile app or standard paper forms. Receive routine follow-up care as determined by their health provider. (For health workers): Participate in interviews or surveys to discuss their experience using the assigned assessment tool.

Interventions

  • Other DINKNESH App
    A mobile-based digital health application designed to support Family Health Teams in the systematic identification and assessment of patients with palliative care needs. The application digitizes validated clinical tools, including the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT), the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, and the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) along with reference materials
  • Other Paper based tool
    A paper-based clinical assessment protocol designed to support Family Health Teams in the systematic identification and assessment of patients with palliative care needs. It incorporates the same validated clinical tools used in the intervention arm, including the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT), the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, and the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS), administered manually during routine home visits without

Primary outcome measures

  • Rate of identification of patients with palliative care needs. [Time frame: 6 weeks]
Secondary outcome measures (1)
  • Qualitative assessment of implementation barriers and enablers. [Time frame: 6 weeks]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

  • For patients(Quantitative Part):
  • Adults aged 18 years or older
  • Currently diagnosed with one or more chronic conditions and receiving home-based follow-up care from a participating Family Health Team within the catchment area of a selected study cluster
  • Willing to provide verbal informed consent, or has a primary caregiver willing to provide proxy consent
  • For healthcare workers:
  • Staff members of the Family Health Team at the selected clusters
  • Involved in delivering or supervising palliative care services during the study period
  • For the qualitative part: Participated in the DINKNESH App implementation process and is willing to participate in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

Exclusion criteria

  • For patients
  • Patients whose clinical condition prevents both self-participation and proxy participation in the assessment process
  • Patients already formally identified and referred for palliative care prior to the study period
  • For healthcare workers:
  • Staff members planning to be absent for more than 1 day during the six-week active study period
  • Healthworkers not present during the training session

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation
Randomized
Model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Open label
Primary purpose
Health services research

Study locations

Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07574281 · MPH/039/18

Primary sources (government registries)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗