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Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

NCT number NCT03536702
Other study ID # PSCI 18-005
Secondary ID
Status Completed
Phase N/A
First received
Last updated
Start date March 28, 2018
Est. completion date November 16, 2018

Study information

Verified date October 2020
Source Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Contact n/a
Is FDA regulated No
Health authority
Study type Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether creative writing in newly diagnosed cancer patients and those with recent progression in their disease will have a positive impact on their mental health. Using a randomized controlled trial approach, emotion thermometers will be employed to evaluate participants' responses on a number of domains, such as anxiety, depression, despair, and anger along with a series of survey questions to monitor changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms. Open-ended survey questions will be used to capture how a creative writing intervention impacts participants' experience of their illness. Melissa Greene's Write from the Heart program focuses more on creative writing rather than cancer focused topics. Patients in the intervention arm will complete -one and a half hour group sessions every two weeks over the span of 3 months. Participants in the active control arm will be provided a book (i.e., Writing Down Bones by Natalie Goldberg) about creative writing and will be asked to do activities for 1.5 hrs every 2 weeks for a period of 3 months.


Description:

Mental wellness before and after intervention in both arms. A validated Emotional Thermometer Scales will be used to predict changes in parameters reflecting participants' mental health pre- and post-intervention. Survey questions focused on symptoms of depression and anxiety will be used to monitor for changes in mental wellness pre- and post-intervention.


Recruitment information / eligibility

Status Completed
Enrollment 60
Est. completion date November 16, 2018
Est. primary completion date November 16, 2018
Accepts healthy volunteers No
Gender All
Age group 20 Years and older
Eligibility Inclusion Criteria: Newly diagnosed with any stage or type of cancer within 3 months OR progression of disease within 3 months of enrollment. Recurrence of cancer within 3 months of enrollment would also be eligible as it will be considered as progression of cancer Ability to understand English language and ability to write without any functional difficulty ECOG performance status 0-3 Exclusion Criteria: Inability to give informed consent Severe psychiatry illness (e.g., uncontrolled depression, schizophrenia or psychosis) Severe cognitive impairment Pregnant females Inability to write or understand English

Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


Intervention

Other:
Creative Writing Workshop
This group will participate in a writing workshop in group sessions.
Independent Writing - Control Group
This group will receive a book for a self writing session.

Locations

Country Name City State
United States Penn State Cancer Institute Hershey Pennsylvania

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor Collaborator
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (1)

DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2017.35.31_suppl.178 Journal of Clinical Oncology 35, no. 31_suppl (November 2017) 178-178.

Outcome

Type Measure Description Time frame Safety issue
Other Status of Cancer at Consent Comparison of status of cancer (stable, progressing, in remission) between intervention and control group. consent
Other Number of Subjects Who Were Admitted to the Hospital and ER Admissions During Study Time Difference in number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations during study period between control and intervention group 4 months
Other Number of Subject That Were Not Hospital or ER Admissions After Study Difference in number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations during study period between control and intervention group 4 months
Other Number of Emergency Room Visits and Hospitalizations Per Subject Difference in number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations per subject during study period between control and intervention group 4 months
Other Status of Cancer at End of Study Comparison of status of cancer (stable, progressing, in remission) between intervention and control group. 4 months
Other Number of Subject That Were Not Hospitalized or in the Emergency Room During Study Time Difference in number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations by subject during study period between control and intervention group 4 months
Primary Emotional Thermometer Subscale 1- Distress at Final Mood scores before and after intervention (after completion of entire session this may vary as some patients may not be able to complete six sessions). A validated Emotional Thermometer Scales (ETS) will be used to predict changes pre and post-intervention. The validated ETS has five dimensions (distress, anxiety, depression,anger, need help), which are all continuous variables and range from 0 to 10 with 0 being no emotional symptoms and 10 extremely emotional. Individual scores will be analyzed as well as a sum of the five scores will be collected to represent average mood score. 4 months
Primary Emotional Thermometer Subscale 2 - Anxiety at Final Mood scores before and after intervention (after completion of entire session this may vary as some patients may not be able to complete six sessions). A validated Emotional Thermometer Scales (ETS) will be used to predict changes pre and post-intervention. The validated ETS has five dimensions (distress, anxiety, depression,anger, need help), which are all continuous variables and range from 0 to 10 with 0 being no emotional symptoms and 10 extremely emotional. Individual scores will be analyzed as well as a sum of the five scores will be collected to represent average mood score. 4 months
Primary Emotional Thermometer Subscale 3 - Depression at Final Mood scores before and after intervention (after completion of entire session this may vary as some patients may not be able to complete six sessions). A validated Emotional Thermometer Scales (ETS) will be used to predict changes pre and post-intervention. The validated ETS has five dimensions (distress, anxiety, depression,anger, need help), which are all continuous variables and range from 0 to 10 with 0 being no emotional symptoms and 10 extremely emotional. Individual scores will be analyzed as well as a sum of the five scores will be collected to represent average mood score.re. 4 months
Primary Emotional Thermometer Subscale 4-anger at Final Mood scores before and after intervention (after completion of entire session this may vary as some patients may not be able to complete six sessions). A validated Emotional Thermometer Scales (ETS) will be used to predict changes pre and post-intervention. The validated ETS has five dimensions (distress, anxiety, depression,anger, need help), which are all continuous variables and range from 0 to 10 with 0 being no emotional symptoms and 10 extremely emotional. Individual scores will be analyzed as well as a sum of the five scores will be collected to represent average mood score.. 4 months
Primary Emotional Thermometer Subscale 5-need Help at Final Mood scores before and after intervention (after completion of entire session this may vary as some patients may not be able to complete six sessions). A validated Emotional Thermometer Scales (ETS) will be used to predict changes pre and post-intervention. The validated ETS has five dimensions (distress, anxiety, depression,anger, need help), which are all continuous variables and range from 0 to 10 with 0 being no emotional symptoms and 10 extremely emotional. Individual scores will be analyzed as well as a sum of the five scores will be collected to represent average mood score. 4 months
Primary Emotional Thermometer Score (Total) at Final Mood scores before and after intervention (after completion of entire session this may vary as some patients may not be able to complete six sessions). A validated Emotional Thermometer Scales (ETS) will be used to predict changes pre and post-intervention. The validated ETS has five dimensions (distress, anxiety, depression,anger, need help), which are all continuous variables and range from 0 to 10 with 0 being no emotional symptoms and 10 extremely emotional. Individual scores will be analyzed as well as a sum of the five scores will be collected to represent average mood score.score. 4 months
Secondary Depression Symptoms Severity of depression symptoms before and after intervention between two groups. The validated depression questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), will be used to predict changes. This questionnaire includes 9 questions, that describes individual symptoms of depression and asks individuals to asses how much each depression symptoms has bothered them in the last two weeks, from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). The total score is compiled to represent a final depression severity score, with higher scores indicating worse severity, at a maximum value of 27 points. 4 months
Secondary Anxiety Symptoms Severity of anxiety symptoms before and after intervention between two groups. The validated anxiety questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7 Scale, will be used to predict changes. This includes 7 questions describing symptoms of generalized anxiety, asking individual patients to rate how much those symptoms have bothered the individual in the past two weeks, from a score of 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). The total of the scores will be used to represent anxiety symptoms score, with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 21, with higher score representing increasing severity of anxiety. 4 months
Secondary Self Reported Somatic Symptoms at Final Self-reported somatic symptoms pre and post intervention in two groups. We will use the Somatic Symptom Scale - 8 (SSS-8) to quantify somatic symptom burden. The scale is composed of 8 questions with options to choose a score of 0 (not at all) - 4 (very much) to describe degree of distress caused by individual somatic symptoms. A total of the 8 scores is used as a final value for the SSS-8, with higher scores indicating worse Somatic Symptom severity. 4 months
Secondary Depression Symptoms at Final Severity of depression symptoms before and after intervention between two groups. The validated depression questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), will be used to predict changes. This questionnaire includes 9 questions, that describes individual symptoms of depression and asks individuals to asses how much each depression symptoms has bothered them in the last two weeks, from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day). The total score is compiled to represent a final depression severity score, with higher scores indicating worse severity, at a maximum value of 27 points 4 months
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