Floatation Experience in Nurses and Physicians

May 5, 2025 updated by: C. Michael Dunham, Mercy Health Ohio

Wellbeing Monitoring During Sequential Reduced Environmental Stimulation-Floatation

The goal of this observational study is to monitor the floatation experience and continue the program as long as deemed important. The main question it aims to answer is: will inventory wellbeing scores increase according to the number of floatation sessions accrued? Nurses (registered, practitioner, and anesthetist) and physicians, employed at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Trauma Center, Mercy Health, will be welcomed to participate in the floatation experience. Participants will be given an option to complete the Wellbeing Inventory survey prior to each floatation session.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The floatation program is a Mercy Health enterprise sponsored by the Mercy Health Mahoning Valley Foundation.The goal of this study is to monitor the floatation experience and continue the program as long as deemed important. The investigators hypothesize that inventory wellbeing scores will increase according to the number of floatation sessions accrued. Nurses (registered, practitioner, and anesthetist) and physicians, employed at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Trauma Center, Mercy Health, will be welcomed to participate in the optional floatation program in Warren, Ohio at no financial cost to them. They will become aware of floatation options through the Mercy Health Be Well wellness program. Floatation monitoring will include assessments of wellbeing, nonstress, and positive affect scores. Participants will be given an option to complete the Wellbeing Inventory survey prior to each floatation session. This will be a self-reporting anonymous process. The investigator will never know the identity of the participant.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

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
    • Ohio
      • Youngstown, Ohio, United States, 44501
        • St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Nurses (registered, practitioner, and anesthetist) and physicians, employed at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Trauma Center, Mercy Health

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Nurses and physicians

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any person that is not a physician or nurse at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Nurses and physicians
Nurses (registered, practitioner, and anesthetist) and physicians, employed at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Trauma Center, Mercy Health
Other: Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy
During floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy), the participant enters a tank that is approximately 5 feet wide, 7 feet long and 5 feet high. The tank is filled with a 10 inch height of water containing enough Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) to create body buoyancy. The water temperature is 93.5 degrees F, an approximate equivalent for normal skin temperature. Ear plugs are used to mitigate sound and the tank is without light illumination to prevent visual stimulation. The sessions are typically 60 minutes in duration. The individual is "Floating-in Solitude, Darkness, Silence, and Thermal-Neutrality." This experience reduces external sensory nervous system input and creates an extraordinarily deep state of mental and physical relaxation.
Other Names:
  • Floatation-REST

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in the inventory wellbeing score
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
The sum of the positive affect and nonstress scores (range 11-55)
Through study completion, an average of 1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in the nonstress score
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
The sum of the reverse-scored ratings for the 7 negative affect items (range 7-35)
Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Change in the positive affect score
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
The sum of the ratings for the 4 positive affect items (range 4-20)
Through study completion, an average of 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Mercy Health Ohio

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: C. Michael Dunham, MD, Mercy Health Ohio

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

October 28, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 5, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 5, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 12, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 2, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

August 7, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2025

Last Verified

May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 6120-810-1-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The wellbeing scores will be assessed according to the number of floatation sessions undertaken and described in a manuscript to be submitted to a peer-reviewed PubMed journal.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Estimate that a descriptive manuscript will be developed and likely accepted for publication by December 2024.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Information will be shared through an open access publication.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

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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