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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06536387

Storytelling Through Music to Improve Well-being Among Homeless Service Providers

Homelessness is a complex social issue and requires a dedicated workforce of helping professionals, including nurses and social workers. Secondary traumatic stress is common in this workforce and contributes to poor professional quality of life, burnout, and job turnover. These factors undermine the health and well-being of homeless service providers and threaten the stability of this critical workforce. The purpose of this study is to evaluate "Storytelling Through Music," an innovative 6-week, multi-dimensional intervention, to improve well-being among homeless service providers.

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Key information

Conditions

Burnout, Professional Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Burnout, Psychological Compassion Fatigue Depression Fatigue Mental Disorders Mental Fatigue Occupational Diseases Occupational Stress Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Secondary Trauma Signs and Symptoms Stress, Psychological

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Texas at Austin

Austin, Texas, 78712, United States

About this study

Research has found that the burden of secondary traumatic stress among homeless service providers (HSP) is similar to that among other healthcare professionals, including nurses working in urban emergency departments and in inpatient psychiatric hospitals. Left unaddressed, secondary traumatic stress can cause compassion fatigue and emotional exhaustion, furthering a cycle of poor professional quality of life (QoL), burnout, and job turnover. Research has identified that arts-based interventions have promise in helping healthcare professionals cope with work-related emotions, assist in revealing genuine emotions linked to work-related stress, and in improving professional QoL. What remains unclear is if arts-based interventions can yield similar benefits amongst HSPs.

The purpose of this study, therefore, is to evaluate the feasibility of implementing Storytelling Through Music (STM) with HSPs working with the homeless population in Austin, Texas. STM is a six-week intervention that combines storytelling, reflective writing, song-writing, and self-care skills to improve emotion regulation through affective and cognitive coping skills. Our preliminary data suggests STM to be feasible and acceptable, and preliminary evidence demonstrates improved coping, psychosocial well-being, and burnout in nurses. Specifically, this project aims to:

Aim 1: Explore the contextual factors impacting the well-being of frontline HSPs.

Aim 2: Examine the feasibility of implementing Storytelling Through Music with HSPs.

Aim 3: Investigate the preliminary intervention effect on coping (emotion regulation, self-compassion); well-being (anxiety, depressive symptoms, loneliness, post-traumatic growth, insomnia); and work-related factors (secondary traumatic stress, burnout, compassion satisfaction, and intent to leave).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • >18 years old
  • employed in a homeless services organization in Austin/Travis County for at least 6 months
  • licensed as a nurse or social worker
  • ability to read and speak English
  • access to computer, internet, and zoom.

Exclusion criteria

  • previous participation in the STM intervention

Treatment and study plan

Storytelling Through Music

Behavioral

Storytelling Through Music is a six-week intervention that combines storytelling, reflective writing, song-writing, and self-care skills to improve emotion regulation through affective and cognitive coping skills.

Primary outcomes

  1. Study Feasibility

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention (6 weeks)

    Feasibility will be evaluated by tracking the percentage of participants screened and enrolled. The study will be deemed feasible with a 60% enrollment rate.

  2. Intervention Feasibility

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention (6 weeks)

    Feasibility will be evaluated by tracking the average number of sessions the participants complete. This intervention will be deemed feasible if 85% of the intervention is completed.

  3. Intervention Acceptability

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention (6 weeks)

    An additional primary endpoint is acceptability. Acceptability will be evaluated with semi-structured interview questions to understand the participant's perception of intervention delivery and content, as well as the perceived impact.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Mean Change from Baseline in Anxiety Scores at 6 weeks and 10 weeks

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention and 1-month post-intervention

    Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Emotional Distress-Anxiety Short-Form 8a will be used. The minimum score is 8, and the maximum score is 40. Higher scores indicate more anxiety.

  2. Mean Change from Baseline in Depression Scores at 6 weeks and 10 weeks

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention and 1-month post-intervention

    The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Depression Short-Form 8a will be used.The minimum score is 8, and the maximum score is 40. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depressive symptoms.

  3. Mean Change from Baseline in Emotion Regulation Scores at 6 weeks and 10 weeks

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention and 1-month post-intervention

    The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF) will be used to assess trait emotional intelligence (EI). The questionnaire consists of 30 items rated on a 7-point scale, provides a global trait EI score, and scores for four subscales (i.e., well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability). Higher scores correspond to high levels of trait EI.

  4. Mean Change from Baseline in Self-Compassion Scores at 6 weeks and 10 weeks

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention and 1-month post-intervention

    Self-Compassion Scale; range is 26-130; higher score is better outcome.

  5. Mean Change from Baseline in Loneliness Scores at 6 weeks and 10 weeks

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention and 1-month post-intervention

    University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale; range is 0-60; lower score is better outcome.

  6. Mean Change from Baseline in Post-traumatic Growth Scores at 6 weeks and 10 weeks

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention and 1-month post-intervention

    The Post-traumatic Growth Index (PTGI) consists of 21-items that measures the degree of positive changes in an individual's experience after a challenging life event. The PTGI consists of 5 dimensions: Relating to Others (7-items), New Possibilities (5-items), Personal Strength (4-items), Spiritual Change (2-items), and Appreciation of Life (3-items). Total scores can range from 0 to 105.

  7. Mean Change from Baseline in Insomnia Scores at 6 weeks and 10 weeks

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention and 1-month post-intervention

    The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Sleep Disturbance Short-Form 6a will be used. The minimum score is 6, and the maximum score is 30. Higher scores indicate more sleep disturbance.

  8. Mean Change from Baseline in Professional Quality of Life Scores at 6 weeks and 10 weeks

    Time frame: Immediately post-intervention and 1-month post-intervention

    The Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) has three subscales: Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout, and Secondary Traumatic Stress. Scores are reported on individual subscales and can range from 10 to 50. Higher levels indicate more of the construct.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Texas at Austin

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Storytelling Through Music: a Novel Approach to Improve Well-being Among Homeless Service Providers

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Aug 2, 2024
Registry last updated
Mar 13, 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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