Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Adapted for Women With Infertility-related Distress

April 3, 2025 updated by: Jennifer Gordon, University of Regina

Randomized Control Trial of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Adapted for Women With Infertility-related Distress

This RCT will test the effect of a 7-week self-help ACT-based program in improving fertility-related quality of life and psychological flexibility, in women with infertility.

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

Ninety women with infertility living in Canada and the United States will be recruited. They will be emailed seven weekly 15-minute videos, each providing instructions on a new Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based technique that addresses the impact of infertility on psychological inflexibility and distress. Fertility-related quality of life and psychological flexibility will be measured before and after the program. Outcomes will also be measured at one-month follow-up. Feedback about how to improve the program will also be collected.

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.
90

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Saskatchewan
      • Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S 0A2
        • University of Regina

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

18 years to 42 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Has been trying to get pregnant for 12+ months and has failed OR is currently undergoing fertility treatments
  • Lives in Canada or the United States
  • Reports a high level of distress related to infertility, as indicated by a FertiQoL score below 71

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Is currently experiencing active suicidal ideation, as indicated by a score of 7 or above on the Suicide Behaviours Questionnaire - Revised (SBQ-R)

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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: Intervention
The program consists of brief weekly videos, each addressing a particular Acceptance and Commitment Therapy technique to be implemented that week. Participants receive the videos by email from the researcher and watch them on their own. Each video also assigns a "homework" exercise for the participant to complete that week and includes a summary of the module.
Behavioral: Infertility ACTion Program
Seven 15-minutes videos of Acceptance and commitment therapy adapted for women with infertility with assigned homework and summaries of the videos.
No Intervention: Waistlist
Participants in the waitlist control condition will complete the same measures as the intervention group. After they have completed their one-month follow-up measures they will be given the opportunity to receive the intervention.

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
Fertility Quality of Life tool (Fertiqol)
Time Frame: Pre-to-post intervention change and in the month following the intervention (post measures assessed 4 weeks after receipt of last module)
Pre-to-post change in quality of life related to a diagnosis of infertility. Scores range from 0-100, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.
Pre-to-post intervention change and in the month following the intervention (post measures assessed 4 weeks after receipt of last module)
Psychological flexibility (MPFI)
Time Frame: Pre-to-post intervention change and in the month following the intervention (post measures assessed 4 weeks after receipt of last module)
Pre-to-post change in psychological flexibility. Higher scores on the flexibility sub scale indicating better psychological flexibility.
Pre-to-post intervention change and in the month following the intervention (post measures assessed 4 weeks after receipt of last module)

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
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)
Time Frame: Pre-to-post intervention change and in the month following the intervention (post measures assessed 4 weeks after receipt of last module)
Pre-to-post change in anxious symptoms; Scores range from 0-21, with higher scoresindicating more severe anxiety
Pre-to-post intervention change and in the month following the intervention (post measures assessed 4 weeks after receipt of last module)
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Time Frame: Pre-to-post intervention change and in the month following the intervention (post measures assessed 4 weeks after receipt of last module)
Pre-to-post change in depressive symptoms; Scores range from 0-27, with higherscores indicating more severe depressive symptoms
Pre-to-post intervention change and in the month following the intervention (post measures assessed 4 weeks after receipt of last module)

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.
University of Regina

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.
March 13, 2023

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.
November 1, 2023

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.
December 1, 2023

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).
October 14, 2022

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.
October 14, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

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.
October 18, 2022

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.
April 8, 2025

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.
April 3, 2025

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.
April 1, 2023

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.
  • REB 2022-026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

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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