Anti-Stress Intervention Among Physicians Study

Stress, Psychological Clinical Trial

— ASIP  

Official title:

Evaluation of Easy-to-implement Anti-stress Interventions in a Series of N-of-1 Trials Among Physicians in Residence

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06368791
• Other study ID #: 30001479
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 15, 2024
• Est. completion date: October 30, 2024

Study information

• Verified date: April 2024
• Source: Charite University, Berlin, Germany
• Contact: Valentin M Vetter, MD
• Phone: 0049 30 450 566 298
• Email: valentin.vetter[@]charite.de
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Medical practice often comes with high stress. Stress negatively affects our health and well-being and is linked to doctors making mistakes, some of which can be deadly.

In this study, the effect of two quick stress-relief methods on daily stress levels is estimated. The two anti-stress exercises are designed to easily fit into daily routines:

1. Box breathing (6 minutes) is known to reduce stress and lower the heart rate. It is used by the military and law enforcement, among others, to manage stress.

2. Breathing and mindfulness exercise (10 minutes): This guided breathing and mindfulness intervention combines mindful breathing with simple body movements, developed to reduce the perceived level of stress.

The effectiveness of these interventions is being examined in a series of N-of-1 trials. Each participant can choose between the interventions. After being randomly allocated to an individual sequence of one-week intervention and control phases, the study begins. Participants record their stress levels daily over the four-week study period. The intervention is only performed in the intervention phases. Upon completing the study, the stress levels during the intervention phases are compared to those in the control phases. Each participant will receive an individual analysis based on the collected data. In addition, the investigators will estimate the effects at the population level.

Three months after the study, a survey will be sent to the participants to check if the benefits have persisted.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 34
• Est. completion date: October 30, 2024
• Est. primary completion date: June 30, 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria

• Physicians in training in Germany

• Weekly working time in medical activity of at least 9 hours

• Regular access to a mobile phone on which the "StudyU"-App can be installed

• Informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Age <18 years

• Specialist training already completed

• No clinical activity during the study period or part of the study period (e.g. vacation, research activity, etc.)

• Participation in another intervention study during the study period

• Does not speak German

• Does yoga more than 4 times a month

• Meditates or performs breathing exercises on average more than 4 days per month

• Confirmed or suspected pregnancy

• Presence of a psychiatric disorder

• Presence of cardiovascular disease

• Presence of respiratory or pulmonary disease

• Presence of a neurological disease

• Substance abuse (for example, alcohol, drugs, or other)

• Planned surgery within the next 6 months

• Doctor's recommendation (or self-assessment) not to perform mindfulness or breathing exercises

• Lack of informed consent

• Employee of the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (due to data protection reasons, employees of the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin will not be included in this study)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Burnout, Psychological
• Occupational Stress
• Stress, Psychological
• Subjective Stress

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Box Breathing
Participants are guided to find a quite and comfortable spot to sit and unwind. They are then directed to inhale deeply for four seconds, hold that breath for another four seconds, and then exhale slowly over four seconds. Following a brief four-second pause, they begin the next cycle of breathing. To assist with this exercise, participants will have access to a video featuring a red dot tracing a square pattern, moving at the pace needed for the breathing technique.
• Breathing and Mindfulness Exercise
The second intervention involves a 10-minute session of guided breathing exercises that blend elements of mindfulness meditation with gentle body movements and controlled breathing. Participants are advised to find a quiet space, sit comfortably, and adopt an upright posture. They are then led through a series of brief exercises, incorporating mild stretches for the upper body and focused, mindful breathing.
• Everyday life control
Participants are instructed to not perform the anti-stress intervention and to proceed with their daily activities as usual.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Germany	Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin	Berlin

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Germany, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Daily perceived stress	Participants are asked to answer the following question on an analog scale from 1 ("not at all") to 10 ("extremely"): "Overall, how stressful was your day?"	daily on day 1 to day 28 of the study
Primary	Daily expectation of perceived stress level on the following day	Participants are asked to answer the following question on an analog scale from 1 ("not at all") to 10 ("extremely"): "Which level of stress do you expect for the following day?"	daily on day 1 to day 28 of the study
Secondary	Level of agreement between expected and actually perceived level of stress	By subtracting the expected from the actually experienced level of stress, the level of agreement will be assessed.	daily on day 1 to day 28 of the study
Secondary	Compliance with the study protocol: number of participant reported outcomes	Compliance with the study protocol will be assessed by counting the number of participant reported outcomes documented.	After 4 weeks
Secondary	Compliance with the study protocol: number of performed anti-stress interventions	Compliance with the study protocol will be assessed by counting the number of anti-stress interventions completed over the entire duration of the study.	After 4 weeks
Secondary	Successful study completion	Successful completion of the study will be assessed based on the minimum required number of results reported by participants during the study period to be included in the final statistical analysis.	After 4 weeks