Efficacy of Guided Imagery Therapy Mobile Application for Functional Abdominal Pain

NCT ID: NCT06653647

Last Updated: 2025-12-10

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

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

4 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-07-18

Study Completion Date

2025-11-30

Brief Summary

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Chronic abdominal pain is common among children, and the majority of cases are attributed to functional abdominal pain disorders. One approach to treating these disorders is by using psychological therapies. This clinical trial aims to see how well pre-recorded guided imagery therapy sessions help children's abdominal pain when delivered via a mobile application (app) on a smartphone or tablet.

Participants will complete a baseline abdominal pain and stooling diary to determine eligibility and other surveys. Participants who qualify will be placed in one of two groups by chance:

* Immediate Treatment Group
* Delayed Treatment Group

After randomization, the Immediate Treatment Group will get immediate access to the guided imagery therapy (GIT) mobile app intervention. This intervention asks participants to listen to a 10- to 15-minute GIT session 5 out 7 days weekly for 8 weeks in addition to their usual care for their abdominal pain. Then, participants will complete another abdominal pain and stooling diary and other psychometric surveys at the end of this intervention period.

After randomization, the Delayed Treatment group will be observed as they wait 8 weeks without app access. During this phase, these participants will continue to treat their abdominal pain in their usual fashion. After the end of this waiting period, participants will complete another abdominal pain and stooling diary and psychometric surveys again before gaining access to the GIT mobile app intervention. As noted previously, the mobile app intervention will ask participants to listen to a 10- to 15-minute GIT session 5 out of 7 days weekly for 8 weeks in addition to their usual care for their abdominal pain. Another abdominal pain and stooling diary and other psychometric surveys will be collected at the end of this app intervention.

Detailed Description

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After fully disclosing the study design, intervention options, randomization scheme, and potential side effects of the interventions, caregivers and their children will document their respective informed consent and assent electronically. REDCap is a secure web application designed for surveys and databases. All data captured through REDCap will be encrypted and transmitted securely to HIPAA-compliant institutional servers for storage.

Participants and their caregivers will complete the following surveys at baseline, second baseline phase (delayed treatment group only 8 weeks after baseline), and immediately post-therapy (delayed treatment group 16 weeks after baseline and immediate treatment group 8 weeks after baseline) through REDCap:

* 2-week Abdominal Pain and Stooling Diary
* Children's Somatic Symptoms Inventory (child self-report and parent proxy-report)
* Pain Catastrophizing Scale - Child Version
* Pain Catastrophizing Scale - Parent Version
* Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core (child self-report and parent proxy-report)
* Behavior Assessment System for Children 3rd Ed (child self-report and parent proxy-report)

Conditions

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Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Functional Colonic Disease Gastrointestinal Disease Digestive System Diseases Neurological Manifestations Signs and Symptoms, Digestive Pain Abdominal Pain/ Discomfort

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Qualified participants will be randomized into either the Delayed Treatment group or the Immediate Treatment Group. The Delayed Treatment Group will be observed for the first 8 weeks after randomization, and then outcome data will be reassessed through abdominal pain and stool diaries and other surveys. Then, this group will be crossed over to the treatment phase and given access to the mobile app intervention for another eight weeks. After this 8-week intervention phase, outcomes will be reassessed again via an abdominal pain and stooling diary and other surveys.

Those qualified participants randomized to the Immediate Treatment Group will be given access to the mobile app intervention for eight weeks. At the end of the eight weeks, outcome measures will be reassessed through an abdominal pain and stooling diary and other surveys.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Immediate Treatment

Participants randomized to the Immediate Treatment arm will receive immediate access to the guided imagery therapy mobile application intervention.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Guided Imagery Therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be asked to listen to a pre-recorded, 10 to 15 minute guided imagery therapy (GIT) session via mobile application 5 out of 7 days per week for 8 weeks in addition to their usual care for their abdominal pain.

Delayed Treatment

Participants randomized to the Delayed Treatment arm will be placed on waitlist status and will not have any intervention from weeks 3 to 10. Participants will continue their usual care for their abdominal pain during this time. Then, this study arm will cross over to the guided imagery therapy mobile application intervention from weeks 11 to 18.

Group Type OTHER

Guided Imagery Therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be asked to listen to a pre-recorded, 10 to 15 minute guided imagery therapy (GIT) session via mobile application 5 out of 7 days per week for 8 weeks in addition to their usual care for their abdominal pain.

Interventions

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Guided Imagery Therapy

Participants will be asked to listen to a pre-recorded, 10 to 15 minute guided imagery therapy (GIT) session via mobile application 5 out of 7 days per week for 8 weeks in addition to their usual care for their abdominal pain.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Texas Children's Pediatrics patients 7 to 12 years old at enrollment
* A Rome IV Functional Abdominal Pain Disorder as defined by a 2-week abdominal pain and stooling diary
* Both children and their primary caregivers must be able to read and communicate in English proficiently to understand the intervention's audio therapy sessions and psychometric instruments.

Exclusion Criteria

* Prior participation in principal investigator's related feasibility or usability study
* Previous abdominal surgeries
* Co-morbid conditions associated with abdominal pain (e.g., cystic fibrosis)
* Autism
* Significant development delay
* Psychosis
* Prior experience with cognitive behavioral therapy or guided imagery therapy to treat chronic abdominal pain
* Alarm symptoms that warrant further medical evaluation (e.g., blood in stool)
Minimum Eligible Age

7 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

12 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Baylor College of Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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John M Hollier

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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John M Hollier, MD, MS, MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Baylor College of Medicine

Locations

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Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children's Hospital

Houston, Texas, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

Other Identifiers

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K23DK120928

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

H-51406

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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