Couples Coping With Multiple Chronic Medical Conditions

Chronic Disease Clinical Trial

— GUGKS  

Official title:

Couples Coping With Multimorbidity: Does Solitary Expressive Writing Foster Psycho-social Adaptation?

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01912157
• Other study ID #: KEK-ZH 2013-0009_GUGKS
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: July 2013
• Est. completion date: December 28, 2018

Study information

• Verified date: December 2018
• Source: University of Zurich
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Handling of complex health situations (as defined by multimorbidity) in partnership:

communication between romantic partners; subjective illness perception; coping with stressful experiences due to multimorbidity.

Intervention : Expressive Writing about subjective illness perception vs. Writing about individual Time-Management Primary Endpoint: subjective Health (e.g. SF 12 questionnaire) Secondary Endpoints: Psychosocial Adjustments (Depression, somatic symptoms, quality of partnership and others)

Description:

Coping in complex health situations (as defined by multimorbidity) and the role of relationship processes for psycho-social adaption: The study investigates interpersonal emotion regulation, disclosure, and illness perceptions in couples with a multimorbid patient. The intervention consists in 3 self-applied solitary written disclosure sessions (expressive writing), the control condition are 3 sessions writing about individual time-management (placebo).

Primary endpoint: subjective health (SF 12 questionnaire) Secondary endpoint: psychosocial adjustments (depression, positive and negative affect, somatic symptoms, adjustment disorder, marital satisfaction, sleep quality)

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 22
• Est. completion date: December 28, 2018
• Est. primary completion date: April 1, 2017
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria:

• Age 18 or older

• multimorbid condition (two or more chronic medical conditions)

• patients living with romantic partner

• very good oral and written command in German

• written consent for participation by patient and partner

Exclusion criteria:

• Pregnancy

• Mini Mental State less than 26

• Substance Abuse

• Patients in Palliative Situation

• Patients isolated due to infectious diseases

• Patients participating in other clinical trials within the last 4 weeks before inclusion

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Chronic Disease
• Illness Behavior
• Multiple Chronic Conditions

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Expressive Writing
The intervention consists in 3 self-applied solitary written disclosure sessions (expressive writing)

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Switzerland	University Hospital Zurich, Internal Medicine	Zurich	ZH

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Zurich

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Switzerland, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Subjective health (SF-12)		3 months
Secondary	Psychosocial adjustments	depression, positive and negative affect, somatic symptoms, adjustment disorder, marital satisfaction, sleep quality	3 months