A Mobile App for Hot Flashes and Sleep Disturbances

NCT ID: NCT06718803

Last Updated: 2025-09-16

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

90 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-01-10

Study Completion Date

2025-08-21

Brief Summary

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The purpose of the study is to compare the possible efficacy and acceptability of two mobile health applications for the reduction of hot flashes and related symptoms.This study is completely remote, and participants will be be asked to engage with a mobile health application daily for five weeks and provide feedback and experience with the app.

Detailed Description

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The North American Menopause Society's 2023 position statement on non-hormonal interventions for hot flashes has recognized hypnotherapy as a Level 1 recommended intervention, meaning there is good and consistent scientific evidence for the intervention. Hypnotherapy for hot flashes has been shown to be an efficacious treatment for hot flashes (hot flashes measured by hot flash daily diaries and the Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale) when administered face-to-face, with women experiencing on average between 70% reductions in hot flashes, which is well over the clinically significant threshold of 50% reduction. In addition, hypnotherapy for hot flashes has been shown to improve sleep quality by up to 50% on average.

Further, a mobile app (Evia) has been developed by Mindset Health to deliver hypnotherapy for hot flashes. Evia is an app that delivers a 5-week program for hypnotic inductions and educational information for hot flashes. The app provides daily tasks such as educational readings, hypnotic inductions, and tracking hot flashes. Due to growth in smartphone ownership and an increase in remotely delivered mobile health (mHealth) apps for smartphones, it is clear that smartphone apps are a strategic way to increase access to hypnosis interventions for hot flashes.

However, there has not yet been a randomized controlled trial evaluating the mobile app for hot flash reduction in menopausal women. The goal of this feasibility randomized clinical trial study is to evaluate the feasibility and potential efficacy of hypnotherapy delivered through the use of a mHealth app vs. a daily health and habit-tracker app for the reduction of hot flashes and improved sleep quality. This proposal delineates three specific aims.

Aim 1: To assess the feasibility of remote accrual of menopausal women with at least 36 weekly hot flashes, randomization to both apps, and retention.

Aim 2: To assess the feasibility of data collection, and the potential efficacy of hypnotherapy on primary and secondary outcomes (i.e., hot flash diaries, interference caused by hot flashes, physiologically-measured hot flash frequency, sleep quality, anxiety, heart palpitations, stress).

Aim 3: To evaluate the satisfaction rating and adverse events. After using the apps for 5 weeks, participants will provide satisfaction ratings on a 0-10 scale (0=completely unsatisfied and 10=completely satisfied. We will also inquire about and record any reported adverse events related to or unrelated to the use of this study's apps.

Aim 4: To explore the feasibility of measuring hypnotizability and practice adherence in a completely remote, mhealth app-based study.

Conditions

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Hot Flashes

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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Hypnotherapy App

Participants in the experimental arm will be asked to engage with a mobile health app that provides hypnotherapy and educational resources tailored for managing hot flashes. The hypnotherapy app offers a structured 5-week program adapted from a hypnosis protocol that has been tested in various randomized clinical trials (Elkins et al., 2008; Elkins et al., 2013). During the 5-week program, users engage in daily activities such as reading brief educational materials, undergoing hypnotic sessions, and tracking their hot flashes. The app also offers users with optional hypnotherapy to improve sleep quality. The hypnotherapy app uses audio recordings to deliver hypnotherapy remotely, these are composed of mental imagery techniques focused on sensations of coolness, such as imagining cool breezes, snow, and a sense of calmness.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Hypnosis

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The Evia program includes three mayor components, 1. A hypnotherapy program for the reduction of hot flashes, 2. Educational readings on hot flashes and menopausal-related topics, 3. Daily hot flash tracker.

The hypnotherapy is delivered in short, daily 10-20 minute audio recordings that involve numerous suggestions for coolness and relaxation (i.e., cool breeze, snowy mountain, deep lake) for a period of five weeks. The hypnotherapy program is based on previous randomized controlled trials for the reduction of hot flashes (Elkins et al., 2008; Elkins et al., 2013).

Health and habits tracker app

Participants assigned to the comparator group will be asked to engage with a daily health and habits tracker app, participants will access the control app free-of-charge, and will be asked to use the app for the five-week period. The app provides users with an interface that facilitates tracking of symptoms, physical activity, medications, and more. Participants will be asked to track their number of hot flashes, sleep quality, and additional symptoms and habits related to the management of hot flashes. Instructions regarding suggestions on what to track and how to maximize app usage will be provided to the participants by our research coordinator. Data will not be collected from the app.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Hypnosis

The Evia program includes three mayor components, 1. A hypnotherapy program for the reduction of hot flashes, 2. Educational readings on hot flashes and menopausal-related topics, 3. Daily hot flash tracker.

The hypnotherapy is delivered in short, daily 10-20 minute audio recordings that involve numerous suggestions for coolness and relaxation (i.e., cool breeze, snowy mountain, deep lake) for a period of five weeks. The hypnotherapy program is based on previous randomized controlled trials for the reduction of hot flashes (Elkins et al., 2008; Elkins et al., 2013).

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Structured Attention

Data collection of hot flash severity and frequency will mirror the hot flashes daily tracker offered by the intervention group (Evia app), and account for time and structured attention control while removing any potential therapeutic effects.

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

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hypnotherapy hypnotic relaxation therapy clinical hypnosis

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* 40 years or older and able to consent to participate in the study.
* Self-reported history of a minimum of 36 hot flashes per week at baseline.
* Ability to access the app to which the participant is randomized to (the Evia app or the Talli Care app).
* Ability to speak and understand English. Non-English speakers are not considered in this study because the Apps are currently only offered in English.

* Does not have access to a Smartphone
* Severe or unstable medical or psychiatric illness.
* Current use of hypnosis for any condition.
Minimum Eligible Age

40 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Baylor University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Vanessa Muniz

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Baylor University

Waco, Texas, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

Other Identifiers

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2220078

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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