Effects of Mobile App in House Staff Health and Well-being During COVID-19 Pandemic

NCT ID: NCT04374786

Last Updated: 2025-11-10

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

TERMINATED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

7 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-05-15

Study Completion Date

2020-12-01

Brief Summary

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Due to the COVID-19 global health pandemic, many people are likely experiencing increased stress. The well-being of physicians in training may be significantly impacted by this pandemic. Meditation is a self-management strategy that can be utilized by anyone to assist with the management of stress. Meditation mobile applications, such as the "Calm" app, can be used to help manage stress, especially during this uncertain time. The investigators propose a prospective evaluation of perceived stress, anxiety, burnout and sleep disturbance in the house staff at Banner University Medical Center Phoenix, with the use of the mobile meditation app, "Calm." The investigatros additionally want to evaluate the feasibility of using the mobile app, including looking at adherence to use of the app and physician satisfaction with use of the app.

Detailed Description

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The COVID-19 global pandemic is significantly impacting healthcare providers and presumably affecting their stress level as they deal with this time of uncertainty. The COVID-19 public health crisis requires the full resources and attention of healthcare systems. This has led to several healthcare changes that affect physicians in training, including changes to rotations and schedules, risks of infection exposure to themselves or their families, and the unknown impacts this may have on their residency and fellowship experiences.

These changes are likely impacting their stress, health, and well-being. Physician burnout is major concern for the medical community and likely to be further impacted by the current pandemic. Evidence-based interventions for stress include cognitive behavior therapy, although this can be time consuming, requires the need for specialized providers, and is not feasible for everyone during this COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacotherapy can be used, including antidepressants and anxiolytics, however they have inherent limitations such as side effects, tolerance, and interactions that limit their use. Consumer based mobile applications (apps) may help individuals with self-management strategies for stress. Mindfulness meditation is one type of self-management strategy and is the practice of moment-to-moment awareness in which the person purposefully focuses on the present without judgement.

"Calm" is a mobile app that offers a range of meditation lessons, sleep stories (bed-time stories for grown-ups), sleep music, and nature sounds with modules that vary in length, instruction, and content. Few studies on the use of "Calm" exist and include a randomized controlled trial evaluating its affect to decrease stress among college students and a descriptive study evaluating cancer patient's perceptions of the app. There is evidence to support the use of similar apps in resident physicians. A pilot study assessing the effects of a meditation app on resident wellness suggested both the feasibility and efficacy of such an intervention. During these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, mobile apps such as Calm may be potentially beneficial to help with stress in house staff physicians, although this requires further investigation.

Conditions

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Perceived Stress Anxiety Sleep Disturbance Burnout PTSD

Keywords

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COVID-19 mindfulness meditation

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Intervention Group

Will receive a 30-day are trial of the mobile meditation app "Calm" on study day 0

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Calm Meditation App

Intervention Type DEVICE

Meditation is a self-management strategy that can be utilized by anyone to assist with the management of stress. Meditation mobile applications, such as the "Calm" app, can be used to help manage stress, especially during this uncertain time.

Interventions

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Calm Meditation App

Meditation is a self-management strategy that can be utilized by anyone to assist with the management of stress. Meditation mobile applications, such as the "Calm" app, can be used to help manage stress, especially during this uncertain time.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* All resident and fellow physicians at Banner University Medical Center Phoenix, 1111 E. McDowell Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85006.

Exclusion Criteria

* Non-resident and fellow physicians at Banner University Medical Center Phoenix, 1111 E. McDowell Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85006.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

99 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Arizona

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Kelley Saunders

Clinical Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Mike Foley, MD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Chair - BUMCP

Locations

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Banner University Medical Center Phoenix

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Huberty J, Green J, Glissmann C, Larkey L, Puzia M, Lee C. Efficacy of the Mindfulness Meditation Mobile App "Calm" to Reduce Stress Among College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Jun 25;7(6):e14273. doi: 10.2196/14273.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 31237569 (View on PubMed)

Huberty J, Vranceanu AM, Carney C, Breus M, Gordon M, Puzia ME. Characteristics and Usage Patterns Among 12,151 Paid Subscribers of the Calm Meditation App: Cross-Sectional Survey. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Nov 3;7(11):e15648. doi: 10.2196/15648.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 31682582 (View on PubMed)

Huberty J, Puzia M, Eckert R, Larkey L. Cancer Patients' and Survivors' Perceptions of the Calm App: Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study. JMIR Cancer. 2020 Jan 25;6(1):e16926. doi: 10.2196/16926.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 32039812 (View on PubMed)

Wen L, Sweeney TE, Welton L, Trockel M, Katznelson L. Encouraging Mindfulness in Medical House Staff via Smartphone App: A Pilot Study. Acad Psychiatry. 2017 Oct;41(5):646-650. doi: 10.1007/s40596-017-0768-3. Epub 2017 Aug 9.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 28795335 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2003524869 [Sub-study]

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id