Meditation to Reduce Firefighter Distress

Reducing Psychological Distress in Fire Fighters With an Asynchronous App- Based Meditation Intervention

The more than one million firefighters in the United States provide critical emergency medical services in communities they serve and are on the front lines of healthcare delivery, including in the post-pandemic world. As a result of exposure to occupational stressors, a high proportion of firefighters experience considerable stress-related burden including psychological distress (i.e., increased features of anxiety and depression). To address this need, this project will test the efficacy of a 10-day meditation intervention (i.e., 10 individual prerecorded audio units delivered by smartphone app) among career firefighters to decrease psychological distress (i.e., anxiety and depression).

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Psychological Distress
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: 10-day meditation intervention; Behavioral: 10-day health education intervention

Detailed Description

The goal of this study is to test the efficacy of a 10-day meditation intervention (i.e., 10 individual prerecorded audio units delivered by smartphone app) versus an active attention control (i.e., 10-day health education intervention with 10 individual prerecorded audio units delivered by smartphone app) to reduce psychological distress among N=160 career firefighters (to address possible attrition, N=192 firefighters will be consented and enrolled). The following specific aims will guide the research:

Aim 1. Examine whether firefighters' psychological distress (i.e., features of anxiety [primary outcome], depression) is reduced at 10 days, 30 days, and 3 months after the meditation intervention versus an active attention control. Features of anxiety, features of depression will be assessed at baseline (T1), after the 10-day intervention (T2), 30 days later (T3), and 3 months later (T4).

Aim 2: Explore the extent to which reductions in psychological distress from the meditation intervention are mediated by mindfulness and perceived social connection.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 192
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Thaddeus Pace, PhD; Phone Number: 5206263520; Email: twwpace@arizona.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Arizona
    • Tucson, Arizona, United States, 85721
      • Recruiting
      • University of Arizona
      • Contact: Thaddeus Pace; Phone Number: 520-626-3520; Email: ffmind2@arizona.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion criteria: 1) currently employed as a career firefighter, 2) 18 or older, 3) speak and understand English, and 4) own a smartphone (iPhone or Android) able to download and run the intervention apps.

Exclusionary factors: 1) diagnosis of an illness requiring use of corticosteroids (e.g., asthma), and 2) have ongoing or past regular meditation experience in the last 4 years (i.e. more than two meditation session [completed or attempted] per year either with a group or individually), as determined by the PI.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 10-day meditation intervention; prerecorded meditation units, 10 units, one per day, delivered by smartphone app	Behavioral: 10-day meditation intervention; prerecorded meditation units delivered by smartphone app
Active Comparator: 10-day health education intervention; prerecorded health education units, 10 units, one per day, delivered by smartphone app	Behavioral: 10-day health education intervention; prerecorded health education units delivered by smartphone app

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
anxiety features	PROMIS (Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) Short Form Emotional Distress - Anxiety - 8a	before, immediately after, 30 days after, and 3 months after the 10-day interventions

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
depression features	PROMIS Short Form Emotional Distress - Depression - 8a	before, immediately after, 30 days after, and 3 months after the 10-day interventions

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Arizona
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Thaddeus Pace, PhD, University of Arizona

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 3, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 18, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 18, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): July 24, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 12, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 10, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00003422

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
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No