Impact of a Self-hyPnOsis Practice on Chronic StresS Among Caregivers of Elderly People With Loss of Autonomy at Home

NCT ID: NCT04909970

Last Updated: 2025-07-30

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 60 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-04-10
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-31

Brief Summary

In France, stress particularly affects family caregivers because of the intensive help they provide on a permanent basis to people losing their autonomy at home. This care work is often considered as a "burden" and has all the characteristics of a chronic daily stress factor. The prevalence of stress among caregivers is high and the level of stress varies according to the type of care provided to seniors at home.

This chronic stress has harmful effects on the health of family caregivers (depression, fatigue, insomnia, onset of chronic diseases, early mortality). It can be detrimental to their well-being and quality of life.

However, ageing well at home for older people is based on this essential pillar: the caregivers. They must remain in good physical and psychological health. Reducing their daily stress is becoming a public health challenge and a national priority.

Currently, the management of caregiver stress is based on several measures and devices. Non-conventional care practices such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, meditation, relaxation and yoga are offered to family caregivers. Initial results of studies on the effect of these complementary medicines show an improvement in psychological stress. However, research in this field is relatively recent. The conclusions must therefore be approached with caution. Moreover, no medium or long-term evaluation has been found in the scientific literature.

Self-hypnosis is becoming a common practice in healthcare. It has demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing pain and anxiety in both adults and children. In addition, other recent scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of hypnosis in stress management. In France, no study on caregiver stress and its management by self-hypnosis has been identified in the literature. The hypothesis is that the stress level of caregivers of elderly people at home could be reduced through daily self-hypnosis practice at home.

Conditions

Stress

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Self hypnosis

Self-hypnosis program associated to usual practice of stress management

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Self-hypnosis

Intervention Type: OTHER

Self-hypnosis training during 8 weeks and one daily self-hypnosis session during 8 weeks

control group (waiting list)

Usual practice of stress management. This group will practice self-hypnosis after the intervention group has practiced self-hypnosis (waiting list).

Group Type: OTHER

Control (Waiting list)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Usual practice during the first 16 weeks. At the end of study, the participant will practice Self-hypnosis training during 8 weeks and one daily self-hypnosis session during 8 weeks

Interventions

Self-hypnosis

Self-hypnosis training during 8 weeks and one daily self-hypnosis session during 8 weeks

Intervention Type: OTHER

Control (Waiting list)

Usual practice during the first 16 weeks. At the end of study, the participant will practice Self-hypnosis training during 8 weeks and one daily self-hypnosis session during 8 weeks

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Stress > or = 3 evaluated by the analogic visual scale of CHAMOUX
• Caregiver at home for a person uper than 60 years old with a loss of autonomy and followed in geriatrics or in polyvalent medicine
• Daily help in at least one of the 3 spheres of the elderly activity
• Person providing care services for more than 2 years with the elderly
• Person who can read and write
• Person affiliated to a social security scheme
• Person who gives his oral express consent
• Person who lives in Reunion Island

Exclusion Criteria

• Person with serious chronic disorder (cancer for example)
• Person with a contraindication to hypnosis (cognitive and psychiatric disorders or alcohol dependence)
• Person under specific treatment preventing them from performing the intervention consistently
• Person who has already practiced hypnosis

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Réunion

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Danielle Reynaud

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

CHU de La Réunion

Locations

CHU de La Réunion

Saint-Pierre, , Reunion

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

Reunion

Central Contacts

Danielle Reynaud

Role: CONTACT

danielle.reynaud@chu-reunion.fr

+262692893102

Facility Contacts

Danielle REYNAUD, PhD

Role: primary

danielle.reynaud@chu-reunion.fr

+262359000 ext. 55124

References

Reynaud D, Bruneau L. Feasibility and acceptance of self-hypnosis to reduce chronic stress levels on family in-home caregivers of elderly people: protocol for the POSSAID pilot, randomised, wait-list controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2022 Dec 30;12(12):e066749. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066749.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 36585135 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

2021/CHU/02

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id