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Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) Training

Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center • ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05456841

Registry updated: 2026-10-07

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Description

Research indicates that perceived stigma within medical encounters is prevalent and problematic for lung cancer patients' well-being and quality of cancer care. Promoting empathic communication appears to be a potentially effective intervention target to help reduce patients' perceptions of stigma within clinical encounters; however, no formal trainings exist that focus on teaching empathic communication to oncology care providers (OCPs). Building upon favorable findings from a prior R21 (R21CA202793) and the importance of developing interventions to address lung cancer stigma, our goal is to conduct a national trial of empathic communication skills (ECS) training to facilitate improvements in the medical and psychosocial care of patients through de-stigmatizing interactions with OCPs for patients diagnosed with lung cancer.

Interventions

Empathic Communication Skills (ECS) training (Behavioral)
The overall training goal of this 2.25 hour module ECS module is to enhance OCP recognition and responsiveness to lung cancer patients' empathic opportunities by communicating understanding, alleviating stigma and distress, and providing support. The ECS training also provides tools to OCPs to buffer/inoculate patients against stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors by others such that lung cancer patients who currently or formerly smoked can be given "small doses" of an opposing viewpoint (termed as "preparing patients for recurring smoking questions") and suggestions of "counterarguments" in order to make them resistant to future stigmatizing attacks by others
Standard of Care participant interaction (Other)
Standard of Care participant interaction

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: Site Eligibility * Employs at least 15 FTE OCPs (i.e., oncologists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) as per self report * Reports a clinic volume of at least 20 new lung cancer patients per month as per self report OCP Participant Eligibility * OCPs who are thoracic oncology physicians (radiologists, medical oncologists, pulmonologists, and surgeons), NPs, or PAs and currently treating lung cancer patients, as per self-report; * OCP conducts consultations with lung cancer patients, as per self-report; * OCP sees at least 1 lung cancer patient per week, as per self-report; Patient Eligibility * Patient under the care of a participating OCP as per self report; * English and/or Spanish speaking; * In general, which language do you prefer to receive your medical care, English/Spanish/both English and Spanish Equally? * If English, treat as fluent in English, no additional language questions * If Spanish, treat as fluent in Spanish, no additional language questions * If both English and Spanish equally, ask the follow-up questions and go with whichever language is endorsed as best. If endorsed equally, assign to category patient prefers * How well do you speak English? Not at all/ Not well/Well/Very well * How well do you speak Spanish? Not at all/Not well/Well/Very well * Is at least 18 years of age as per self report; * Has a history of suspicious lung mass or confirmed lung cancer diagnosis, as per clinician judgment or medical record note; * Is a former or current smoking as per self report; * Has had no more than 10 prior visits with the participating OCP, as per the medical record and/or self report Exclusion Criteria: Patient Exclusion * Individuals of impaired decision-making capacity as per a clinician's judgment or as documented in the EMR. Site and OCP Exclusion * None

Conditions

Lung Cancer

Locations

Providence St. Joseph Health (Data Collection Only) — Irvine, California, United States
BAPTIST ALLIANCE - MCI (Data Collection Only) — Miami, Florida, United States
Advocate Health Care Network — Libertyville, Illinois, United States
University of Kentucky (Data Collection Only) — Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Munson Healthcare (Data Collection Only) — Traverse City, Michigan, United States
Hackensack Meridian Health (Data collection only) — Hackensack, New Jersey, United States
Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Data Collection Only) — Buffalo, New York, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (All Protocol Activities) — New York, New York, United States
Virtua Health (Data Collection Only) — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
University of Pennsylvania (Data Collection Only) — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Fox Chase Cancer Center (Data Collection Only) — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare (Data Collection Only) — Chesapeake, Virginia, United States

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Official Source

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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