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Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

NCT number NCT04803344
Other study ID # URomLS_2
Secondary ID
Status Completed
Phase N/A
First received
Last updated
Start date April 1, 2019
Est. completion date March 30, 2020

Study information

Verified date March 2021
Source University of Roma La Sapienza
Contact n/a
Is FDA regulated No
Health authority
Study type Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This pilot study aims to evaluate the effects of an expressive writing intervention on a sample of new mothers after the childbirth on the psychological health and on the healthcare costs. The mothers were evaluated also in a follow-up one month after the end of the expressive writing intervention.


Description:

Women are recruited starting from the sixth month of pregnancy; forty-one eventually agreed to participate and they were randomly assigned to two groups: an Experimental group (treated with the expressive writing task, one weeks-three months after childbirth) and a Control group (no intervention). Psychological health is measured at three stages: before intervention, at 8-9 months pregnant (T0); after intervention, from 1 week to 3 months after delivery (T1); and a follow-up after 1 to 3 months (T2). The assessment protocol consists of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI), the Toronto Alexythimia Scale-20 (TAS-20), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y), the Rating Scale For Rapid Stress Assessment (VRS) and the 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12). The healthcare costs are collected at baseline (T0) and follow-up (T2) with a survey created ad hoc, in which participants reported the number and the type of the medical examinations, hospitalisations, prescribed drugs etc. Social and personal data are collected from the first survey.


Recruitment information / eligibility

Status Completed
Enrollment 41
Est. completion date March 30, 2020
Est. primary completion date March 30, 2020
Accepts healthy volunteers Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Gender Female
Age group 18 Years to 45 Years
Eligibility Inclusion Criteria: - age > 18 years - > 6 months of pregnancy - no medical complications during pregnancy Exclusion Criteria: - medical complication during pregnancy - no comprehension of Italian language

Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


Intervention

Behavioral:
Expressive Writing tecnique
Expressive Writing (EW), is a simple, potentially inexpensive, therapeutic intervention which involves writing daily for 15-20 min over 3-4 consecutive days. EW can be completed at home without the need for facilitation, a specialist therapist or a dedicated facility.
Neutral Writing
Participants were asked to write on neutral objects or events.

Locations

Country Name City State
Italy Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University Rome

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor Collaborator
University of Roma La Sapienza

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Italy, 

Outcome

Type Measure Description Time frame Safety issue
Primary Health-related quality of life In order to evaluate the Health-related quality of life, the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey was used. This standardized questionnaire is composed by 12 items selected from SF-36 and produces two summaries, physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) scale (Brazier and Roberts, 2004). Before (T0) and after the writing intervention (T1) and at the follow-up (T2). The outcome assessment lasts about 1 hour
Primary Anxiety In order to evaluate the levels of anxiety, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI-Y, (Spielberger, 1983; Spielberger et al., 1970) was used. It is a self-report questionnaire developed to evaluate both state and trait anxiety, respectively a transitory emotional state and a personality trait considered relatively stable. Before (T0) and after the writing intervention (T1) and at the follow-up (T2). The outcome assessment lasts about 1 hour
Primary Depression In order to evaluate the levels of depression, The 13-item short form of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) was used. Before (T0) and after the writing intervention (T1) and at the follow-up (T2). The outcome assessment lasts about 1 hour
Primary Healthcare spending In order to test the healthcare spending to all participants were asked (through a specific questionnaire built ad hoc for the specific situation) the number of medical visits, the number of hospitalizations, the number of admissions to emergency room for acute episodes, the number of hospitalizations stay days in the last year. The study hypothesized a lower number of medical visits, hospitalization's days and admissions to emergency room for those mothers who performed the expressive writing task. Before (T0) and after the writing intervention (T1) and at the follow-up (T2). The outcome assessment lasts about 1 hour
Primary Stress In order to test the stress levels, the Valutazione Rapida dello stress (VRS) was used. The VRS is rapid self-assessment rating scale for measure of percieved stress. This scale is composed of 15 items and five areas: anxiety, depression, somatization, aggressiveness, and social support. The social support scale measures the percieved lack of social support (Tarsitani and Biondi, 1999). Before (T0) and after the writing intervention (T1) and at the follow-up (T2). The outcome assessment lasts about 1 hour
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