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ASKids

Agenda-setting Tool for Multidisciplinary Meetings in Pediatric Hospital Stays

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What is being tested

Structured Agenda-Setting Tool

Other
Who is being recruted

Medical Complexity

Over 7 Years
+13 Eligibility Criteria

See all eligibility criteria

How is the trial designed

Services Research Study

Interventional
Study Start: May 2026

See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Study ContactCatherine H. Saunders, PhD, MPH
Last updated: August 17, 2025
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner
Study start date: May 1, 2026Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

This study focuses on improving the experience of children and their families during complex hospital stays. Researchers are testing a new tool called the Structured Agenda-setting (SAS) tool, which aims to help families and healthcare teams communicate better during hospital meetings. This tool is being tested in the pediatric department, where children are admitted for care. The goal is to see if this tool can make hospital stays less stressful and more effective for families by ensuring everyone is on the same page regarding the child's care. Participants in this study will use the SAS tool during their hospital stay. The study will look at how well the tool works by evaluating how it is used and whether it helps improve communication between families and healthcare teams. Researchers will also check if their methods for selecting participants and using questionnaires to gather feedback are effective. The results from this initial pilot study will help shape future, larger studies to further explore the benefits of the SAS tool in pediatric care. There are no specific risks mentioned, but the study aims to find ways to make hospital experiences more positive for families.

Official TitleCentering Children and Care Partners in Complex Pediatric Hospital Stays: Evaluation of a Structured Inpatient Agenda-setting Intervention for Multidisciplinary Family Meetings 
Principal SponsorDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Study ContactCatherine H. Saunders, PhD, MPH
Last updated: August 17, 2025
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details
20 patients to be enrolledTotal number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.
Services Research Study
These studies look at how healthcare is delivered, managed, and organized. They aim to improve care quality, patient experience, and access to treatment.

How participants are assigned to different groups/arms
In this clinical study, all participants receive the same treatment. Since there is only one group, there is no need for randomization or assignment to different arms. This type of study is often used to test a new treatment without comparing it to another.

Other Ways to Assign Participants
Randomized allocation: Participants are assigned randomly, like flipping a coin, to ensure fairness and reduce bias.
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.

How treatments are given to participants
In this study, all participants receive the same treatment. This approach is often used to evaluate the effects of a single intervention without comparing it to another.

Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Parallel assignment: Participants are split into separate groups, each receiving a different treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Factorial assignment: Participants receive different combinations of treatments.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.

How the effectiveness of the treatment is controlled
In a non placebo-controlled study, no participants receive an inert substance (placebo) to compare outcomes. Instead, all participants receive either the experimental treatment or an alternative treatment (often the Standard of Care). This method allows researchers to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of a different active intervention, rather than a placebo.

Other Options
Placebo-Controlled: A placebo is used to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of an inert substance, isolating the true treatment effect.

How the interventions assigned to participants is kept confidential
Everyone involved in the study knows which treatment is being given. This is typically used when it's not possible or necessary to hide the treatment details from participants or researchers.

Other Ways to Mask Information
Single-blind: Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do.
Double-blind: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria
Any sexBiological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.
Over 7 YearsRange of ages for which participants are eligible to join.
Healthy volunteers not allowedIf individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.
Conditions
Pathology
Medical Complexity
Criteria
7 inclusion criteria required to participate
Pediatric Inpatients: Children aged 7-17 years
Can communicate in English
Able to provide verbal assent, with consent from their care partner
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center pediatric patient who currently or has recently (within the last 3 months) been hospitalized with a length of stay of 4≥ days Care Partners: - Adults aged 18≥ years

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6 exclusion criteria prevent from participating
For pediatric inpatients, children < aged 7
For care partners, children aged <18 years
Cannot communicate in English
For pediatric inpatients, unable to provide verbal assent

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Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives
One single intervention group 

is designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups
Group I
Experimental
The study team will implement a structured clinical visit agenda-setting (SAS) intervention customized for the pediatric inpatient environment.
Study Objectives
Primary Objectives

Our primary outcome will be feasibility, assessed by the proportion of patients who receive the intervention.
Secondary Objectives

Description: As measured by participant enrollment in REDCap.

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
This study has 1 location
Suspended
Dartmouth HitchcockLebanon, United StatesSee the location
Recruiting soonOne Study Center