POEM (Practice Of Embracing Each Moment) STUDY (POEM)

A Pilot Study of a Mobile/Online-based Mindfulness Intervention for Cancer Patients and Caregivers

A cancer diagnosis is extremely stressful, emotionally challenging, and often life-altering for both patients and their loved ones. Although more than one-third of patients experience distress, doctors are typically at a loss as to how to help patients and their families manage these emotional challenges. Mindfulness-based programs, including meditation, are offered at major medical centers in the US and have been found to help reduce stress and improve quality of life among cancer patients. However, these classes often require 30+ hours of in-person instruction over 8 weeks, which is neither practical nor feasible for patients undergoing chemotherapy due to side effects and scheduling conflicts.

This study will test whether an 8-week mobile app-based mindfulness program is accepted and useful for patients who have recently received chemotherapy and their loved ones. It will also test whether it is feasible to randomize participants into three groups: intervention, active control (receiving progressive muscle relaxation through the same app) and a wait list control group (will receive the meditation intervention 8 weeks later), so that a future study can test whether mindfulness intervention can help reduce stress and improve quality of life. Because many Americans own smartphone or tablet, an app that can teach stress reduction techniques at home or at infusion clinics has great potential to address emotional needs that providers often cannot.

The study will also include caregivers of patients who have recently received chemotherapy as research has shown that caregivers tend to show high levels of stress and depression and worse physical health compared to non-caregivers. The negative effects of caregiving are most pronounced in caregivers of patients with cancer. However, little support is directed to caregivers as most medical attention goes toward the patients. The patient-caregiver relationship may serve as a source of mutual support and a surrogate for community, which is traditionally considered to be an essential ingredient for sustaining mindfulness practices.

If this study is successful, it will justify a larger trial to determine if use of a mindfulness app is effective in reducing stress and improving quality of life for cancer patients and caregivers. If effective, this low-cost stress reduction strategy could be distributed and used for all types and stages of cancer patients and their caregivers, anywhere, any time, helping to improve the quality of life of the many individuals affected by cancer.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cancer; Distress; Chemotherapy Effect
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Mindfulness meditation program (administered via mobile app); Behavioral: Progressive muscle relaxation (via mobile app)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 128
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Oakland, California, United States, 94611
      • Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• active member of Kaiser Permanente Northern California
• a diagnosis of cancer, and currently undergoing chemotherapy or completed chemotherapy in the past 6 months at time of recruitment
• English literacy/fluency, access to a smartphone, a tablet (e.g., iPad) or a computer with internet
• Caregivers: a partner, other family member, or a close friend who identify him/herself as the patient's primary unpaid caregiver. English literacy/fluency, access to a smartphone, a tablet (e.g., iPad) or a computer with internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

• Deafness
• severe mental illness
• Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score <8 or >14 on either anxiety or depression scale (patient only)
• current stress reduction practice

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention arm; Participants in the intervention arm will receive access to a mobile app-based/online mindfulness meditation program and asked to practice meditation daily for 8 weeks.	Behavioral: Mindfulness meditation program (administered via mobile app); Mobile app-based/online mindfulness meditation program
Active Comparator: Active control arm; Participants in this arm will receive access to a mobile app-based/online progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) program and asked to practice PMR daily for 8 weeks.	Behavioral: Progressive muscle relaxation (via mobile app); Mobile app-based/online progressive muscle relaxation program
Other: Wait list control arm; Participants in the wait list control arm will also receive access to a mobile app-based/online mindfulness meditation program and asked to practice meditation daily for 8 weeks, but they will not receive access to the program until after the intervention group completes the intervention (8 weeks later).	Behavioral: Mindfulness meditation program (administered via mobile app); Mobile app-based/online mindfulness meditation program

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Anxiety--patients	The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) will be used to measure anxiety in patient-participants. This scale is frequently used to assess psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients. The HADS is a 14-item self-report measurement tool designed for use in medical outpatient settings to assess depression and anxiety. Each subscale is scored from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater distress; 0-7 is generally considered "normal," 8-10 "mild," 11-14 "moderate," and 15-21 "severe" symptoms.	Baseline to 8 weeks
Change in Depression--patients	The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) will be used to measure depression in patients. This scale is frequently used to assess psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients. The HADS is a 14-item self-report measurement tool designed for use in medical outpatient settings to assess depression and anxiety. Each subscale is scored from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater distress; 0-7 is generally considered "normal," 8-10 "mild," 11-14 "moderate," and 15-21 "severe" symptoms.	Baseline to 8 weeks
Change in Anxiety--caregivers	The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) will be used to measure anxiety in caregiver-participants. This scale is frequently used to assess psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients. The HADS is a 14-item self-report measurement tool designed for use in medical outpatient settings to assess depression and anxiety. Each subscale is scored from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater distress; 0-7 is generally considered "normal," 8-10 "mild," 11-14 "moderate," and 15-21 "severe" symptoms.	Baseline to 8 weeks
Change in Depression--caregivers	The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) will be used to measure depression in caregiver-participants. This scale is frequently used to assess psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients. The HADS is a 14-item self-report measurement tool designed for use in medical outpatient settings to assess depression and anxiety. Each subscale is scored from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater distress; 0-7 is generally considered "normal," 8-10 "mild," 11-14 "moderate," and 15-21 "severe" symptoms.	Baseline to 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Distress--patients	The National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer will be used to assess current distress level in patient-participants. Respondents are asked to rate their level of distress during the past week by circling a number on an image of a thermometer, with 0 indicating "no distress" and 10 "extreme distress".	Baseline to 8 weeks
Change in Fatigue--patients	The Brief Fatigue Inventory assesses the severity and impact of cancer-related fatigue, asks about current level of fatigue, average and worst level of fatigue in the past 24 hours, and extent to which fatigue interfered with various aspects of life in the past 24 hours (e.g., mood, walking ability) on a 10-point Likert scale. A global fatigue score is calculated by averaging all items (ranging from 0 to 10). A higher score represents greater severity and impact of fatigue.	Baseline to 8 weeks
Change in Pain Interference--patients	The 8-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System(PROMIS) pain interference scale will be used to measure the self-reported consequences of pain on relevant aspects of one's life. This includes the extent to which pain hinders engagement with social, cognitive, emotional, physical, and recreational activities. Scores range from 8 to 40 with higher scores indicating more interference due to pain.	Baseline to 8 weeks
Change in Distress--caregivers	The National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer will be used to assess current distress level in caregiver-participants. Respondents are asked to rate their level of distress during the past week by circling a number on an image of a thermometer, with 0 indicating "no distress" and 10 "extreme distress".	Baseline to 8 weeks
Change in Fatigue--caregivers	The Brief Fatigue Inventory assesses the severity and impact of cancer-related fatigue, asks about current level of fatigue, average and worst level of fatigue in the past 24 hours, and extent to which fatigue interfered with various aspects of life in the past 24 hours (e.g., mood, walking ability) on a 10-point Likert scale. A global fatigue score is calculated by averaging all items (ranging from 0 to 10). A higher score represents greater severity and impact of fatigue.	Baseline to 8 weeks
Change in Pain Interference--caregivers	The 8-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System(PROMIS) pain interference scale will be used to measure the self-reported consequences of pain on relevant aspects of one's life. This includes the extent to which pain hinders engagement with social, cognitive, emotional, physical, and recreational activities. Scores range from 8 to 40 with higher scores indicating more interference due to pain.	Baseline to 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kaiser Permanente
• Collaborators: American Cancer Society, Inc.
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ai Kubo, PhD, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Division of Research

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Kubo A, Kurtovich E, McGinnis M, Aghaee S, Altschuler A, Quesenberry C Jr, Kolevska T, Avins AL. A Randomized Controlled Trial of mHealth Mindfulness Intervention for Cancer Patients and Informal Cancer Caregivers: A Feasibility Study Within an Integrated Health Care Delivery System. Integr Cancer Ther. 2019 Jan-Dec;18:1534735419850634. doi: 10.1177/1534735419850634.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 24, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 8, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): November 8, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 2, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 7, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): March 13, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 16, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 27, 2025
• Last Verified: March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: quality of life; depression; anxiety; mindfulness; meditation
• Other Study ID Numbers: CN-17-2851

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