Chaplain-Delivered Compassion Meditation to Improve Spiritual Care of Patients Receiving Stem Cell Transplantation

Randomized Pilot Study of Chaplain-Delivered Compassion Meditation for Patients Receiving Stem Cell Transplantation

This clinical trial tests the feasibility, implementation and acceptability of chaplain delivered compassion meditation in order to improve spiritual care for patients receiving stem cell transplantation. Hospital chaplains play a vital role in delivering emotional and spiritual care to a broad range of both religious and non-religious patients for a wide variety of stressors, and extensive research indicates that spiritual consults impact patient outcomes and satisfaction. Compassion meditation is a secularized, research-based mindfulness and compassion meditation program designed to expand and strengthen compassion for self and others. Practices include training in attentional stability and increased emotional awareness, as well as targeted reflections to appreciate one's relationship with self and others. By centering the mind, controlling debilitating ruminative thoughts, and cultivating personal resiliency and an inclusive and more accurate understanding of others. Engaging in chaplain delivered compassion meditation may improve the spiritual care for patients receiving stem cell transplantation.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Lymphoma; Multiple Myeloma
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Spiritual Therapy; Other: Best Practice

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To examine the feasibility, adoption, extent of implementation, acceptability and fidelity of chaplain-delivered compassion-centered spiritual health (CCSH).

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive chaplain-led compassionate centered spiritual health sessions over 30 minutes, twice per week for up to 2 weeks.

ARM II: Patients receive a traditional chaplain consultation and care upon request, per standard of care.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 80-100 days and 6 months post treatment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Georgia
    • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322
      • Emory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• PATIENT: Within 6 weeks of scheduled hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT)
• PATIENT: > 18 years of age
• PATIENT: Speak and read English
• CHAPLAIN: Emory Healthcare chaplain

Exclusion Criteria:

• PATIENT: Patients will be excluded if they are cognitively impaired, on a ventilator, or are in a room requiring enteric precautions or airborne precautions (e.g., use of an N-95 mask requiring fit-testing) to enter
• CHAPLAIN: There will be no exclusion criteria and no consequence to the chaplains for refusing to volunteer

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm I (Chaplain delivered compassion meditation); Patients receive chaplain led compassionate centered spiritual health sessions over 30 minutes, twice per week for up to 2 weeks.	Procedure: Spiritual Therapy; Undergo chaplain led compassionate centered spiritual health sessions
Active Comparator: Arm II (Traditional chaplain consultation); Patients receive a traditional chaplain consultation and care upon request, per standard of care.	Other: Best Practice; Receive a traditional chaplain consultation and will receive care upon request; Other Names: best practice, standard of care, standard of care, standard therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility - patient enrollment and treatment-specific retention rates	Will measure and characterize the proportion of eligible patient screens who enroll and treatment-specific retention rates.	Up to 8 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Characteristics Affecting Acceptability - Chaplain Satisfaction Survey	We will examine whether scores on the chaplain satisfaction survey vary based on patient sociodemographic variables (biological sex, race)	Up to 8 months
Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant [FACT-BMT]	Impact of chaplain-delivered compassion-centered spiritual health on quality of life	Up to 8 months
Acceptability - Chaplain Satisfaction Survey	Will administer a post- chaplain-based compassion treatment (CBCT) intervention using chaplain satisfaction survey and will ask patients after each session if they would like to continue receiving CBCT sessions.	Up to 8 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Emory University
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI); National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 30, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 13, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 4, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 18, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 25, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): August 15, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 12, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Neoplasms; Immune System Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Hematologic Diseases; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Neoplasms, Plasma Cell; Hemostatic Disorders; Paraproteinemias; Blood Protein Disorders; Hemorrhagic Disorders; Multiple Myeloma
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00006456; P30CA138292 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); K01AT010488 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); EU6011-23 (Other Identifier: Emory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute)

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