A Proof-of-Concept Trial of a Positive Psychology Intervention for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Patients (PATH II)

The goal of this research study is to find out if a novel phone-based positive psychology intervention that focuses on improving health behaviors and positive emotions can help improve mood, health related quality of life, and overall function in patients who have just undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as part of blood cancer treatment.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hematopoietic/Lymphoid Cancer; Hematologic Malignancy; Blood Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Positive Psychology Intervention

Detailed Description

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a rigorous treatment for blood cancer patients that can be life-saving, but often causes psychological distress. The investigators hope that this study will help the research team to develop and implement a positive psychological intervention designed to help HSCT patients increase positive emotions such as hope, gratitude, and fulfillment while recovering from a stem cell transplant. Participants will be selected after receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant treatment in the past 30 days at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI).

In this project, the investigators hope to:

1. Test the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, 8-week, phone-based positive psychology intervention in a small cohort of post-HSCT patients (N = 20).
2. Explore potential benefits of completing the intervention on outcomes of interest, such as positive affect and overall function.

Baseline information about enrolled participants will be obtained from patients from the electronic medical record as required for characterization of our population. This information will include data regarding medical history, current medical variables, medications, and sociodemographic data.

Participants will be approached upon nearing their discharge from the hospital, approximately 30 days after their transplant. Between the time of their discharge and their 100-day post-transplant visit, there will be three check-in/psychosocial support phone calls at weeks 4, 8, and 12 after discharge to build rapport and discuss their recovery. Then, at week 14, participants will meet with the principal investigator to complete self-assessment questionnaires. The participants will then complete an 8-week phone-based positive psychology intervention, at the end of which the self-assessment questionnaires will be repeated.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
      • Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 90 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult patients with hematologic malignancies hospitalized for allogeneic HSCT at the DFCI inpatient units who are medically stable and appropriate for study approach
• Ability to speak, read and write English
• Access to a telephone

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current major depressive episode, bipolar disorder, psychosis or active substance use disorder diagnosed via the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI)
• Cognitive deficits impeding a study participant's ability to provide informed consent or participate adequately in the study assessed via the Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS)
• Medical conditions precluding interviews

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Positive Psychology; Participants will receive check-in/psychosocial support phone calls at weeks four, eight and twelve following enrollment. At approximately 100-days post-HSCT, participants will begin an 8-week positive-psychology program involving weekly calls with an interventionist, in this case the principal investigator, and exercises (i.e. writing a letter of gratitude, identifying personal strengths, planning meaningful and enjoyable activities). Participants will complete self-assessment questionnaires to measure positive affect, health behaviors, and overall function before and after completing the Positive Psychology Intervention.

Behavioral: Positive Psychology Intervention; Weekly phone calls with the study interventionist and positive psychology exercises over an 8-week period. The positive psychology program exercises includes three modules: gratitude-based activities, strength-based activities, and meaning-based activities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of Positive Psychology (PP) Intervention	Feasibility will be measured by examining the number of completed exercises.	Baseline - week 8 of intervention
Acceptability of Exercises: Ease Score	Participants will provide ratings of ease of completion after each PP exercise, measured on a 10-point Likert scale (score range: 0-10, 0 = very difficult and 10 = very easy). Ratings from all 8 weeks were averaged.	Baseline - week 8 of intervention
Acceptability of Exercises: Utility Score	Participants will provide ratings of utility of completion after each PP exercise, measured on a 10-point Likert scale (score range: 0-10, 0 = not helpful and 10 = very helpful). Ratings from all 8 weeks were averaged.	Baseline - week 8 of intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in PANAS Scores	The positive affect items on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), a well-validated scale used in other intervention trials and in patients with medical illness, will be used to measure positive affect (Range: 10-50). Higher scores indicate higher levels of positive affect.	Change in score from baseline to 8 weeks
Changes in LOT-R Scores	Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) is a well-validated 6-item instrument used to measure dispositional optimism (Range: 0-24). Higher scores indicate higher levels of dispositional optimism.	Change in score from baseline to 8 weeks
Changes in HADS Scores	The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), which consists of the HADS-depression subscale and HADS-anxiety subscale, is a well-validated scale with few somatic symptom items that can confound mood/anxiety assessment in medically ill patients before and after the PP intervention. Both subscales consist of 7 items, and each item is scored on a 0-3 scale, 0 indicating no clinical severity or a lack of symptoms, and 3 indicating significant clinical severity or increased symptom frequency; the maximum score is for each scale 21 and the minimum score is a 0. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression or anxiety.	Change in score from baseline to 8 weeks
Changes in FACT-BMT Scores	The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Bone Marrow Transplant is a 47-item measure of the quality of life in patients undergoing bone marrow transplants before and after the PP intervention. There are five subscales, each including 7 items and various score ranges: Physical Well-Being (0-28), Social/Family Well-Being (0-28), Emotional Well-Being (0-24), Functional Well-Being (0-28), and Transplant (0-40). Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale based on patient agreement with each statement: 0 for "not at all," 1 for "a little bit," 2 for "somewhat," 3 for "quite a bit," and 4 for "very much." In each subscale, add items together to get the sum, then the sum is multiplied by 7, and finally, the sum is divided by the number of items answered to obtain the subscale score. The Physical and Emotional subscales are reverse scored. The total score is the sum of the subscale total added together and ranges from 0-148. The higher the score, the better the quality of life.	Change in score from baseline to 8 weeks
Changes in PROMIS-PF-20 Scores	The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System - Physical Function is a well-validated scale used to measure overall function before and after the PP intervention. The PROMIS-Fatigue is scored on a 5-point Likert scale based on how much the person filling out the questionnaire agrees with the statement or question. The minimum value is 1 indicating "not at all" and the maximum value is 5 indicating "very much". Higher scores indicate higher levels of fatigue. The PROMIS-PF scores range from 20-100, with 20 indicating lower or limited levels of physical functioning and 100 indicating no difficulty or higher levels of physical functioning.	Change in score from baseline to 8 weeks
Immediate Impact of Exercises: Optimism Score	Participants will provide ratings of their present level of optimism after each PP exercise, measured on a 10-point Likert scale (score range: 0-10, 0 = not optimistic and 10 = very optimistic). Ratings from all 8 weeks were averaged.	Week 1 of intervention - Week 8 of intervention
Immediate Impact of Exercises: Positive Affect Score	Participants will provide ratings of their present level of positive affect after each PP exercise, measured on a 10-point Likert scale (score range: 0-10, 0 = not happy and 10 = very happy). Ratings from all 8 weeks were averaged.	Week 1 of intervention - Week 8 of intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Collaborators: Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Hermioni Amonoo, MD, MPP, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 11, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): July 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 29, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 29, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): August 31, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 12, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 30, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant; Positive Psychology; Hematologic malignancy; Positive Psychological Intervention
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Hematologic Diseases; Neoplasms; Hematologic Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 18-225

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