Examination of a Self-Compassion Course for Healthcare Providers Working With People With Multiple Sclerosis

July 24, 2025 updated by: Robert Simpson
Clinical staff working with people with multiple sclerosis often face emotional fatigue and high levels of burnout. The Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities course is an evidence-based intervention that teaches participants how to meet distress with kindness and care. This study will recruit up to 40 staff from the Barlo MS Clinic at St. Michael's Hospital to take part in a 6-week, 6-session Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities course. Participants will be asked to complete surveys before and after the course to understand the effects of the course on a range of outcomes. Participants will be invited to take part in one qualitative interview on their perspectives on the course.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

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.

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 (Estimated)

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.
40

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
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5B 1W8
        • Unity Health Toronto
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Aged 18 years or older
  2. Able to understand spoken and written English
  3. Current professional affiliation with the Barlo MS clinic

Exclusion Criteria:

1) Severe active mental health impairment (psychosis, suicidality)

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group 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: Self-compassion course
6-week manualized online Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities course
Behavioral: Self-compassion intervention (Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities course)
An online 6-week mindful self-compassion course with weekly sessions.

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
Recruitment
Time Frame: 6 months
The investigators will measure the number of participants eligible for and recruited to the study.
6 months
Retention
Time Frame: 6 months
The investigators will measure the percentage of participants who complete outcome data.
6 months
Adherence
Time Frame: 6 months
The investigators will measure the number of participants who completed the Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities course.
6 months
Follow-up rates
Time Frame: 6 months
The investigators will measure the percentage of participants who complete outcome measures pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 3 months post-intervention.
6 months

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
Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) Version 5
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Measures the positive and negative effects of one's compassion for those that they help. Includes with subscales for compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue (including burnout). Answers are assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores on the compassion satisfaction sub-scale indicating higher compassion satisfaction, and higher scores on compassion fatigue sub-scale indicating higher burnout.
Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Measures how one typically acts towards themselves in difficult times. The total score ranges from a 1-5, with higher scores representing high self-compassion.
Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Relational Compassion Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Measure's ones tendencies for receiving and providing relational compassion. Answers are assessed using a 4-point Likert scale. Higher scores represent higher compassion for self and others.
Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Perceived Stress Scale-10
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Measures one's thoughts and feelings pertaining to stress. The total score can range from 0-40, with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.
Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Measures emotion regulation. Answers are assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. Higher values indicate greater difficulties in emotion regulation.
Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Dispositional Joy Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention
Measures trait/dispositional joy. Answers are assessed using a 7-point Likert scale, with higher scores representing higher joy.
Baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks after baseline), and 3 months post-intervention

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.
Robert Simpson

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 (Estimated)

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.
September 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 28, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
July 31, 2026

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).
July 24, 2025

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.
July 24, 2025

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.
July 31, 2025

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.
July 31, 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.
July 24, 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.
July 1, 2025

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.
  • 2072

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

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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Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

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