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NCT Number: NCT06053268

Mindfulness Interventions to Improve Health Activation, Coping, and Stress Among Childhood Cancer Survivors

This study will explore feasibility and acceptability of using a daily mobile mindfulness app to cope with stress. In addition, feasibility of digital health data collection procedures including wrist-worn devices and ecological momentary assessments will be examined.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES

* Determine the feasibility and acceptability of completing the 30-day mobile mindfulness program * Evaluate the feasibility of digital health data collection procedures to detect autonomic nervous system (ANS) activation associated with stress (e.g., electrodermal activity, pulse rate variability, skin temperature) via wearable devices and self-reported ecological momentary assessments (EMA) among adult survivors of childhood cancer in the SJLIFE cohort * Generate preliminary data to estimate the effect size and power needed for an extramurally funded randomized controlled trials (RCT) examining the impact of daily mindfulness mediation on biomarkers of ANS activation, coping, health behaviors, and cardiometabolic outcomes in a cohort of survivors of childhood cancer.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

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Key information

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, United States

About this study

Prior to engaging in the intervention participants will complete baseline assessments of stress and coping. Participants will then engage in a daily mindfulness practice via the Headspace mobile application. The basic application program includes daily 10-minute sessions in guided mindfulness meditation that include mindful breathing, body awareness, emotion and thought recognition, and attentional control. During the first and fourth week of the intervention, participants will complete EMAs assessing mood, current activity, and intervention engagement. Participants will also wear a wrist-worn device to assess biomarkers of stress. At the completion of the intervention participants will complete follow-up assessments related to intervention and data collection procedures feasibility and acceptability as well as coping behaviors and stress.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Research participant is at least 18 years old at enrollment
  • Research participant is followed by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH)
  • Research participant has a diagnosis history of leukemia or lymphoma
  • Research participant takes part in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (SJLIFE)
  • Research participant has elevated psychological stress scores of 6 or greater on most recent SJLIFE questionnaire
  • Participant can speak and read English

Exclusion criteria

  • Research participant currently engages in mindful stress-reduction practices >2x per week (e.g., tai chi, meditation)
  • Research participant takes psychiatric medications or medications that impact cardiac functioning, beta-blockers, alpha-blockers
  • Research participant wears a pacemaker
  • Research participant has a diagnosis of a congenital heart disease
  • Research participant has no access to a smartphone
  • Research participant has elevated pain interference scores (T≥70)

Treatment and study plan

Headspace

Device

The intervention was delivered via the Headspace mobile application. The basic application program includes daily 10-minute sessions in guided mindfulness meditation that include mindful breathing, body awareness, emotion and thought recognition, and attentional control

Primary outcomes

  1. Mindfulness App Adherence

    Time frame: 30 days (during intervention)

    Mindfulness app adherence was defined as the proportion of participants who completed at least 4 meditation sessions on average during the 30-day intervention.

  2. Intervention Acceptability

    Time frame: Up to 1 week post intervention

    Treatment Acceptability and Adherence Scale - Participants will rate on a 0 ("Strongly disagree") to 7 ("Strongly agree") scale regarding their perceptions of acceptability of the mindfulness intervention (10 items). Scores range from 0-70. An overall score is provided with higher scores indicating higher intervention acceptability.

  3. Ecological Momentary Assessment Data Collection Acceptability

    Time frame: Up to 1 week post intervention

    An adapted version of the Treatment Acceptability and Adherence Scale was created to evaluate ecological momentary assessment acceptability (7 items). Scores range from 0-49. An overall score is provided with higher scores indicating higher intervention acceptability.

  4. Biosensor (Wrist-worn Device) Adherence

    Time frame: Approximately 37 days over the study window (7-day baseline washout plus 30-day intervention)

    Biosensor adherence was defined as the proportion of participants who wore the wrist-worn biosensor for at least 10 hours per day across the approximately 37-day study window.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Perceived Stress Scale

    Time frame: Baseline and up to 1 week post intervention

    This measure is a 10-item, widely used and validated assessment of stress and efficacy of managing stress. The Participants are asked to respond to each question on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often), indicating how often they have felt or thought a certain way within the past month. A single score is provided and ranges from 0 to 40. Higher scores indicate higher levels of stress.

  2. Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE)

    Time frame: Baseline and up to 1 week post intervention

    The Brief COPE is a validated measure of coping strategies. Six subscales were included in this analysis: behavioral disengagement, planning, positive reframing, meditation/religious coping, self-blame, and emotional support. Participants rated each item on a 4-point Likert scale, and subscale scores range from 2 to 8 for each domain, with higher scores indicating greater use of the given coping strategy. Higher scores are not uniformly better or worse outcomes because interpretation depends on the coping strategy; for example, higher planning, positive reframing, and emotional support generally reflect greater use of adaptive coping strategies, whereas higher behavioral disengagement and self-blame reflect greater use of maladaptive coping strategies.

  3. Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein

    Time frame: Baseline and up to 1 week post intervention

    Oxidized low-density lipoprotein was measured from dried blood spot specimens as a biomarker of oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein particles. Values are reported in units per liter. Higher values indicate greater oxidized low-density lipoprotein concentrations.

  4. Pro-B-type Natriuretic Peptide

    Time frame: Baseline and up to 1 week post intervention

    Pro-B-type natriuretic peptide was measured from dried blood spot specimens as a biomarker related to cardiac wall stress. Values are reported as log-transformed concentrations in picograms per milliliter (log pg/mL). Higher values indicate higher pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations.

  5. P-selectin

    Time frame: Baseline and up to 1 week post intervention

    P-selectin was measured from dried blood spot specimens as a biomarker of platelet activation and vascular inflammation. Values are reported as log-transformed concentrations in picograms per milliliter (log pg/mL). Higher values indicate higher P-selectin concentrations.

  6. Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1

    Time frame: Baseline and up to 1 week post intervention

    Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 was measured from dried blood spot specimens as a biomarker of endothelial activation and vascular inflammation. Values are reported in nanograms per milliliter. Higher values indicate higher vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 concentrations.

  7. Homocysteine

    Time frame: Baseline and up to 1 week post intervention

    Homocysteine was measured from dried blood spot specimens as a biomarker related to vascular and cardiometabolic risk. Values are reported in micromoles per liter. Higher values indicate higher homocysteine concentrations.

  8. High-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein

    Time frame: Baseline and up to 1 week post intervention

    High-sensitivity C-reactive protein was measured from dried blood spot specimens as a biomarker of systemic inflammation. Values are reported in milligrams per liter. Higher values indicate higher systemic inflammation.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2026
First posted
Sep 25, 2023
Registry last updated
Jul 23, 2026

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

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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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