Lung Transplant READY Pilot Study

Lung Transplant Resources for Education and Decision-making for Your Cystic Fibrosis (READY): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Lung transplant is an option for treating end-stage lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF). More than half of people with CF who die without a lung transplant were never referred for consideration. Patient preference not to undergo lung transplant may account for 25-40% of decisions to defer referral. Increasing awareness of lung transplant among people with CF, and promoting understanding of the risks and benefits of transplant, can potentially reduce the number of people with CF who die without a lung transplant. The CF Foundation (CFF) lung transplant referral guidelines were developed to optimize the timing of referral for lung transplant. These guidelines recommend annual conversations with CF patients once their forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) is <50% predicted. Considering lung transplant as a treatment option ahead of when it is medically needed will allow more time to learn about lung transplant and address any barriers to lung transplant that may exist. Investigators are interested in understanding how people with CF use lung transplant educational resources and how one prepares for having discussions and/or making decisions about lung transplant as a treatment option for advanced CF. The purpose of this study is to test whether a research website improves patient preparedness for discussions about lung transplant. Study involvement will span 4 weeks and study procedures will involve the following: Three Zoom interview sessions (30-60 minutes each) Survey assessments Access to a research website that contains educational resources about lung transplant (goal of 4 hours of use over the 4 week study period)

Lung transplant is an option for treating end-stage lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF). In the United States, more CF patients with forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) less than 30% of predicted die each year than undergo lung transplant. More than half of people with CF who die without lung transplant were never referred for consideration, with patients of lower socioeconomic status disproportionately impacted by limited access to lung transplant. Patient preference not to undergo lung transplant may account for 25-40% of decisions to defer referral. The CF Foundation established lung transplant referral guidelines that recommend individuals with CF have annual conversations about lung transplant with their CF doctor once their FEV1 is less than 50% of predicted. Considering lung transplant as a treatment option ahead of when it is medically needed will allow more time to learn about lung transplant and address any barriers to lung transplant that may exist. By introducing an educational resource that can increase awareness of lung transplant among patients, and promote understanding of the risks and benefits of lung transplant, investigators aim to empower people with CF to take part in shared decision-making with their CF providers which could reduce the number of people with CF who die without lung transplant. Based on prior research, investigators have developed a novel lung transplant decision support tool that addresses patient-identified knowledge gaps and provides personalized educational content to help people with CF prepare for lung transplant discussions and decisions. The decision support tool couples real-life CF patient experiences of lung transplant in the form of personal narratives with up-to-date, CF-specific, and guideline-based medical information about lung transplant. The overall research objectives for this pilot study are to test the efficacy of the decision support tool to improve patient preparedness for shared decision making about lung transplant and knowledge about lung transplant, and to evaluate the impact on mental health outcomes (depression and anxiety). The new website will be compared against an attention control website (UNOS.org) to better understand how people with CF use and rank different educational resources' utility. The central hypothesis is that use of the new decision support tool that incorporates disease severity data (FEV1 % predicted, supplemental oxygen use, exacerbations) to identify relevant personal narratives and guideline-based educational content will increase a patient's preparedness to engage in discussions about lung transplant beyond the standard information presented on UNOS.org. The pilot study will be a randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomized 1:1 to one of two educational resources, described above, stratified by FEV1 category (FEV1 30-50% or FEV1 <30% of predicted). Baseline surveys will evaluate knowledge about lung transplant, a Likert scale rating of preparedness for lung transplant discussions, decisional conflict about lung transplant, and mental health. Baseline interviews will address perspectives on lung transplant as a treatment option for CF and the role of newer CF therapies in the decision making process about lung transplant. For two weeks, participants will have access to one of two educational resources via a login to a secure research website. At 2 weeks, there will be a study visit that includes repeated surveys from baseline and the Preparedness for Shared Decision Making (PrepDM) Scale, along with a second brief interview. After the 2-week study visit, participants will have access to both educational resources via individual login to the secure research website. At 4 weeks, there will be a study visit to repeat the surveys and interview. Throughout the 4 weeks, web analytics will be captured at the individual level to determine usage patterns for both educational resources.

Access to an investigator-designed web-based educational resource with information about lung transplant for two weeks.

Access to a publicly available web-based educational resource with information about transplant for two weeks.

Participants will access the investigator-designed educational resource via their login to a secure website. After two weeks, participants will gain access to the publicly available website (attention control) and will have an additional two weeks of access to both of these resources.

Participants will access the publicly available education resource via their login to a secure website. After two weeks, participants will gain access to the investigator-designed educational resource (research intervention) and will have an additional two weeks of access to both of these resources.

The co-primary endpoint is feasibility, which will be defined as successful if 90% of enrolled participants complete the 2-week study visit (regardless of study arm).

The co-primary endpoint is an intention-to-treat assessment of the difference in mean Preparedness for Shared Decision Making (PrepDM) Scale in the intervention versus control arms of the study at the 2-week study visit. Scores range on a scale from 0 to 100 with higher scores indicating a higher perceived level of preparation for decision making.

Confidence-weighted true false knowledge about lung transplant (14-question investigator-designed survey)

Difference in mean confidence-weighted true false (CTF) knowledge score will be measured in the intervention versus control arms of the study. CTF scoring adds points for certainty in correct responses and deducts points for certainty in incorrect responses. Participants receive +2 points when "sure" about a correct response, +1 if unsure about a correct response, -1 if unsure about an incorrect response and -2 if sure about an incorrect response. For a 14-item knowledge test, the maximum score is +28 and the minimum score is -28, with higher scores indicating more knowledge about lung transplant.

Decisional Conflict Scale change will be measured from the baseline study visit to the 2-week study visit. The intention-to-treat analysis will compare mean change in the Decisional Conflict Scale between the intervention and control arms of the study. Scores range from 0 [no decisional conflict] to 100 [extremely high decisional conflict].

Likert rating of preparedness will be measured at the 2-week study visit (0=Don't know, 1= Not at all prepared, 2 = A little prepared, 3 = Moderately prepared, 4 = Very prepared). The intention-to-treat analysis will compare mean Likert-scale rating between the intervention and control arms of the study.

PHQ-9 is a scale that measures symptoms of depression in the prior 2 weeks on a 0-27 scale, with higher scores indicating worsening depression and a score of 10 or higher consistent with a diagnosis of depression. Investigators will assess the difference in mean PHQ-9 score in the intervention versus control arms of the study at the 2-week study visit. Investigators will also determine the proportion with new PHQ-9 score greater than or equal to 10 in each arm.

GAD-7 is a scale that measures symptoms of anxiety in the prior 2 weeks on a 0-21 scale, with higher scores indicating worsening anxiety and a score of 10 or higher consistent with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder. Investigators will assess the difference in mean GAD-7 score in the intervention versus control arms of the study at the 2-week study visit. Investigators will also determine the proportion with new GAD-7 score greater than or equal to 10 in each arm.

The PrepDM Scale will be measured for all participants with respect to the investigator-designed educational resource (research intervention) and mean score will be compared for participants in the intervention (4 weeks of exposure) versus control arms (2 weeks of exposure). PrepDM scores range on a scale from 0 to 100 with higher scores indicating a higher perceived level of preparation for decision making.

4-week assessment for confidence-weighted true false knowledge about lung transplant (14-question investigator-designed survey)

Change in confidence-weighted true false knowledge about lung transplant (14-question investigator-designed survey) will be assessed from baseline to 4-weeks for participants in the intervention arm and from 2-week to 4-week study visits for participants in the Attention Control arm. Mean difference in the knowledge score (range -28 to +28) will be compared between study arms. Higher scores indicate more knowledge about lung transplant.

Change in Decisional Conflict Scale will be assessed from baseline to 4-weeks for participants in the intervention arm and from 2-week to 4-week study visits for participants in the Attention Control arm. Difference in the mean change in Decisional Conflict Scale will be compared between study arms. Scores range from 0 [no decisional conflict] to 100 [extremely high decisional conflict].

Evaluate the proportion "Very prepared" at baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks in the intervention and control arms. Compare proportions across study arms at each time point.

Average time spent using the research website from baseline to 2 weeks will be compared across study arms. Further, time spent using the investigator-designed website will be assessed as a predictor of: 1. change in confidence-weighted true false knowledge about lung transplant (14-question investigator-designed survey) from baseline to 2-week study visit, 2. change in Likert preparedness from baseline to 2-week study visit, 3. change in Decisional Conflict Scale from baseline to 2-week study visit, and 4. mean PrepDM Scale at 2-weeks.

Inclusion Criteria: Diagnosis of cystic fibrosis FEV1 less than or equal to 50% predicted (unless referred per MD recommendation) Exclusion Criteria: Patients unable to provide informed consent Patients who are lung transplant recipients Unable to read or understand English to complete surveys or access the websites (currently only available in English)

De-identified individual participant data (IPD) may be shared with other researchers for secondary analyses with the approval of the appropriate Human Subjects Division(s) and the study's principal investigator (PI).

Data will become available after publication of the results of the primary analyses of the study. The data will be available for up to 3 years after the end of the study.

Qualified researchers with appropriate clinical research training and/or mentorship will be allowed to have access to IPD after approval is obtained from Human Subjects Division(s) and the study PI.

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Leard LE, Holm AM, Valapour M, Glanville AR, Attawar S, Aversa M, Campos SV, Christon LM, Cypel M, Dellgren G, Hartwig MG, Kapnadak SG, Kolaitis NA, Kotloff RM, Patterson CM, Shlobin OA, Smith PJ, Sole A, Solomon M, Weill D, Wijsenbeek MS, Willemse BWM, Arcasoy SM, Ramos KJ. Consensus document for the selection of lung transplant candidates: An update from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2021 Nov;40(11):1349-1379. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2021.07.005. Epub 2021 Jul 24.

Ramos KJ, Hobler MR, Engelberg RA, Curtis JR, Zander MI, Howard SS, Goss CH, Aitken ML. Addressing lung transplant with adults with cystic fibrosis: A qualitative analysis of patients' perspectives and experiences. J Cyst Fibros. 2019 May;18(3):416-419. doi: 10.1016/j.jcf.2019.04.007. Epub 2019 Apr 17.