Meditation or Health & Wellness Education Via Internet for Adults 50-80 Years Old

March 11, 2019 updated by: Barry S. Oken, Oregon Health and Science University
  1. Telephone Eligibility Screening
  2. Baseline Visit, includes online questionnaires, physical measures, cognitive tasks, voice recordings, physical recordings of brain waves, heart rate, breathing rate, and sweat during computer tasks. Collect saliva samples, questionnaire data, and respond to handheld device that rings randomly for the seven days following the visit.
  3. Randomized to receive (a) an internet-based Mindfulness Meditation program, (b) an internet-based Health & Wellness Education program, or (c) no training. IF assigned to receive a training program, participants complete weekly one-hour online trainings and daily home practice for 6 weeks
  4. Endpoint Visit (same as Baseline), scheduled 8 weeks after Baseline
  5. All participants receive Meditation and Education programs after the Endpoint Visit
  6. Online questionnaire follow-up 6 months after the Endpoint

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The primary aim of this research project is to evaluate whether an internet-based mindfulness meditation training improves cognition and resilience in stressed older adults. Dr. Oken specializes in evaluating the effects of stress on the human body, and he plans to use advanced statistical analyses to create a "multi-domain physiologic measure." This means study staff will collect biological data, including electroencephalogram (EEG, brainwaves), blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and saliva samples. The investigator hypothesizes that when he statistically combines all of these together, he will have a measure that correlates with self-rated (survey) measures of resilience and stress.

Participants will undergo a telephone screening to determine eligibility, and then they will fill out online questionnaires before their Baseline Visit at the lab. Study staff will take physical measurements (i.e. height, weight, vision), administer short cognitive tasks that measure attention and memory, and collect biological data (listed above) during several different tasks. Some of the tasks are very simple, such as breath counting and listening to an audio recording of a podcast. And some of the tasks are intended to be more stressful, such as one that presents difficult math problems. The investigator hopes to induce stress so that study staff can measure resilience by evaluating how long it takes participants to return to a biological baseline, such as their usual blood pressure. In total, the visit is approximately 3 ½ hours long.

After the Baseline, participants are sent home with a handheld device that administers random 5-minute assessments, as well as tubes to collect saliva, for the seven days following the in-lab visit. Participants will also fill out short questionnaires about daily events over these seven days. Once data collection is complete, participants will come into the lab to return the device and samples and learn whether they have been randomized to receive the internet-based mindfulness meditation training (40% chance), an internet-based health & wellness education program (40% chance), or a non-active waitlist (20% chance). All participants will be informed before the study begins that they will have access to the meditation and education materials once their participation is complete. Participants receiving the meditation and education will complete a one-hour online training each week for six weeks, and they will use an iPod to listen to guided meditations or educational podcasts (depending on group assignment) for 30-45 minutes per day. The iPod tracks their home practice, and they will return it at the end of the study. All participants will receive a weekly call from study staff to check in about whether they have experienced any health changes and, if applicable, how the meditation or education program is going.

Eight weeks after the Baseline Visit, participants will again fill out online questionnaires and come back to the lab for an Endpoint Visit, which is very similar to the Baseline. They will again collect saliva samples and complete assessments on a handheld device for two days following the visit. They will mail the samples and device back to the lab and then receive access to both internet-based training programs and associated audio recordings. Participants will then be asked to fill out online questionnaires one last time 6 months after the Endpoint Visit.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
64

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Oregon
      • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
        • Hatfield Research Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

50 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Between the ages of 50 and 80 years old
  • Be stable on all medications for at least 2 months and willing to NOT change medications for the duration of the study
  • Have access to a computer with internet in order to complete online questionnaires three separate times and complete 1-hour trainings once per week for six weeks
  • Willing to travel to OHSU for a total of three times
  • Willing to follow the study protocol, including completely weekly internet-based trainings and doing 30-45 minutes of home practice daily for 6 weeks IF randomly assigned to receive the meditation or education trainings

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Have any significant medical or neurological diseases, such as major organ failure, insulin-dependent diabetes, or active cancer
  • Have significant untreated depression
  • Have significant visual or hearing impairment
  • Take certain medications in the last 2 months, such as neuroleptics or steroids
  • Have prior experience with mediation classes or other mind-body classes (e.g. yoga or tai chi) within the past 2 years
  • Have had a regular meditation practice in the past 30 days
  • Be gone for more than one full week during study participation

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Online Mindfulness Meditation Training
Weekly 1-hr online training and daily meditation for 30-45 min for 6 wks
Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation
Using study-provided iPod device to listen to guided meditations daily
Experimental: Online Health & Wellness Education
6-week training entails completing weekly 1-hour online training and listening to educational podcasts for 30-45 minutes per day
Behavioral: Health & Wellness Education
Using study-provided iPod device to listen to educational podcasts daily
No Intervention: Wait List Control
No training

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Golden Stroop Cognitive Task Total Score
Time Frame: Change from Baseline in Stroop score at 8 weeks
Measures selective attention, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed
Change from Baseline in Stroop score at 8 weeks
Heart Rate Variability
Time Frame: Change from Baseline in Heart Rate Variability at 8 weeks
Used as a measure of resiliency to determine how quickly a participant returns to baseline following an experimental stressor
Change from Baseline in Heart Rate Variability at 8 weeks
Composite multi-domain physiologic measure
Time Frame: Change in multiple measures from Baseline at 8 weeks
ECG, EEG, Respiration, self-report questionnaires
Change in multiple measures from Baseline at 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task Total Score
Time Frame: Change from Baseline in AVLT scores at 8 weeks
Evaluates short-term auditory-verbal memory, rate of learning, learning strategies, retroactive and proactive interference, presence of confabulation of confusion in memory processes, retention of information, and differences between learning and retrieval
Change from Baseline in AVLT scores at 8 weeks
Verbal Fluency Total Score
Time Frame: Change from Baseline in Verbal Fluency score at 8 weeks
Measures executive function
Change from Baseline in Verbal Fluency score at 8 weeks
Letter Number Sequencing Total Score
Time Frame: Change from Baseline in Letter Number Sequencing score at 8 weeks
Measures executive function
Change from Baseline in Letter Number Sequencing score at 8 weeks
Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure
Time Frame: Change from Baseline in Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure at 8 weeks
Used as a measure of resiliency to determine how quickly a participant returns to baseline following an experimental stressor
Change from Baseline in Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure at 8 weeks
Respiration Rate
Time Frame: Change from Baseline in Respiration Rate at 8 weeks
Used as a measure of resiliency to determine how quickly a participant returns to baseline following an experimental stressor
Change from Baseline in Respiration Rate at 8 weeks
Salivary Cortisol Levels
Time Frame: Change from Baseline in Cortisol Levels at 8 weeks
Measures general stress from baseline to endpoint and it's also used as a measure of resiliency to determine how quickly a participant returns to baseline following an experimental stressor; Several samples are taken during Baseline and Endpoint Assessments (8 weeks apart), and four samples are collected each day for two days following the Baseline and two days following the Endpoint
Change from Baseline in Cortisol Levels at 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Oregon Health and Science University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Barry S Oken, MD, MS, Oregon Health and Science University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 20, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 5, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 10, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 13, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 11, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 11847

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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