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OpenTrials
Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT05619718

Loneliness Group Intervention

The goal of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a group loneliness intervention in geriatric psychiatry inpatients. This type of group loneliness intervention is based on functional analytic psychotherapy and is called Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Conditions

Loneliness

Age range

60 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Parkwood Institute Mental Health

London, Ontario, N6C 0A7, Canada

About this study

The objective of our clinical trial is to adapt, implement, and evaluate a type of loneliness group intervention called Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups for older adults in a psychiatric unit. The following research questions will be answered: (a) Are ACL groups with geriatric psychiatry inpatients feasible and acceptable? (b) Do such ACL groups demonstrate preliminary efficacy?

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Admission to geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit

Exclusion criteria

  • Individuals who are disoriented to person, delirious, unable to tolerate or participate meaningfully in the group, or otherwise unable to provide consent to research and psychotherapy

Treatment and study plan

Awareness, Courage, and Love Groups

Behavioral

Groups based on the Awareness, Courage, and Love framework from functional analytic psychotherapy

Mutual Help Meetings

Other

Groups based on treatment as usual where patients gather to discuss how they can help others on the ward, and make requests for how others can help them.

Primary outcomes

  1. Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale (IOS)

    Time frame: Up to 2 months

    Brief single-item pictorial measure of social closeness. The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 7, and higher scores indicate a better outcome.

  2. UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6)

    Time frame: Up to 2 months

    Brief measure of loneliness. The minimum value is 6, the maximum value is 24, and higher scores indicate a worse outcome.

  3. Relational Health Indices (RHI)

    Time frame: Up to 2 months

    Brief measure of group relational health. The minimum value is 8, the maximum value is 40, and higher scores indicate a better outcome.

  4. Quantitative Program Satisfaction

    Time frame: Up to 2 months

    Brief measure of program satisfaction. The minimum value is 0, the maximum value is 16, and higher scores indicate a better outcome.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale

    Time frame: Up to 2 months

    1 item pictorial scale of subjective wellbeing from 0 (minimum) to 10 (maximum). A higher score indicates a better outcome.

  2. Sacred Moment Qualities (SMQ)

    Time frame: Up to 2 months

    Brief measure of perceived sacred qualities, adapted from Pargament et al. (2014). The minimum value is 11, the maximum value is 55, and higher scores indicate a better outcome.

Other outcomes

  1. Satisfaction Questionnaire

    Time frame: Up to 2 months

    Brief open-ended questions about program satisfaction. Responses are qualitative.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's

Other

Collaborators

  • Western University, Canada

Registry information

Official study title

Loneliness Group Intervention for Geriatric Psychiatry Inpatients

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Nov 17, 2022
Registry last updated
Sep 24, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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