Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT02191345

The Effectiveness of Guided Imagery for a Nonprofit's Employees

Primary Aim A. To determine if listening to prerecorded guided imagery 3 times per week for 4 weeks will reduce state anxiety, perceived stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma in Fronltine Service staff.

Primary Aim B. To determine if staff will continue to listen to guided imagery after the first 4 weeks of the study is over.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Focus of Study Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Burnout, Psychological Compassion Fatigue Fatigue Mental Disorders Mental Fatigue Occupational Stress Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Stress Stress, Psychological

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

FrontLine Service

Cleveland, Ohio, 44114, United States

About this study

The purpose of this study is to compare the change in stress levels of employees who listen to prerecorded guided imagery to employees who take breaks, and to determine if employees are likely to adopt prerecorded guided imagery as a self-care tool.

Participants will be randomly assigned to either the guided imagery group or the control group. Members of the control group will be asked to take a 10 minute break 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Members of the guided imagery group will be asked to listen to one prerecorded guided imagery track 3 times per week for 4 weeks. All participants will fill out questionnaires before and after the 4 week period. All participants will fill out a short form before and after listening to each guided imagery, or before and after taking each break.

Phase 2: After phase 1 is complete, all participants will have the option to participate in phase 2 of the study. During phase 2, participants will receive a calendar and put a mark on every day that they listen to a guided imagery track. At the end of 4 weeks, participants will turn in the calendar.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Staff of a nonprofit who work a minimum of three shifts per week
  • Willing and able to use about 8-15 minutes of their lunch hours three times per week for for four weeks for the study

Exclusion criteria

  • Staff members will be excluded from the study if they currently listen to guided imagery
  • Those currently experiencing drug or alcohol abuse, suicidal ideation, or other serious mental health issue while not under the care of a trained mental health professional will also be excluded

Treatment and study plan

GUIDED IMAGERY

Behavioral

Guided imagery is a stress management technique that uses verbal suggestion and descriptive language to guide the listener into imagining sensations and visualizing images in the mind in order to bring about a desired physical response, such as reduction in anxiety, stress, or pain. The guided imagery tracks chosen for the study were chosen because their goal is relaxation and stress relief, and their length is under 15 minutes.

Primary outcomes

  1. State Anxiety as Measured by the State Anxiety Short Form

    Time frame: 4 weeks

    Participants in the experimental group will fill out the State Anxiety Short Form, a 6-item questionnaire before and after listening to guided imagery. Participants in the control group will fill out the same measure before and after taking a break.

    This will be done 3 times per week for a duration of 4 weeks.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction, and Burnout, as measured by the ProQol

    Time frame: 4 weeks

    Participants in both the control and experimental groups will complete the ProQol, a 30-item questionnaire, before and after the 4-week intervention period.

  2. Perceived Stress as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale

    Time frame: 4 weeks

    Participants in the experimental and control groups will complete the Perceived Stress Scale, a self-report, 10-item questionnaire, before and after the 4-week intervention period.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

FrontLine Service

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Controlled Trial Measuring the Effectiveness of Prerecorded Guided Imagery in Reducing Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, Perceived Stress, and State Anxiety of a Mental Health Nonprofit's Employees

Important dates

Study start
2014
Primary completion
2014
Study completion
2014
First posted
Jul 16, 2014
Registry last updated
Feb 23, 2017

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.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.