Effect of Visualized Meditation on Anxiety, Pain, and Comfort in Patients Undergoing Endoscopy

November 28, 2025 updated by: Tuğba Albayram, University of Gaziantep
Endoscopy is one of the most frequently performed procedures for the early diagnosis and treatment of many diseases and plays a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment of upper gastrointestinal disorders. Sometimes, endoscopy may be the only option for detecting certain diseases of the stomach and larynx. However, for many patients, endoscopy is considered an invasive, highly painful, and extremely uncomfortable procedure. Furthermore, anxiety and fear felt before the procedure can cause physical and emotional discomfort, disrupt patient comfort, and cause pain.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Endoscopy is one of the most frequently performed procedures for the early diagnosis and treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders and plays a critical role, particularly in the evaluation of upper gastrointestinal system pathologies. In certain clinical situations, endoscopy may be the only reliable method for identifying diseases occurring in the stomach, esophagus, and larynx. Despite its diagnostic and therapeutic value, endoscopy is commonly perceived by patients as an invasive, uncomfortable, and often painful procedure. In addition, the anxiety and fear experienced before the procedure can lead to both physical and emotional distress, negatively affecting overall patient comfort and potentially intensifying the perception of pain.

Moderate to severe anxiety during endoscopy has been shown to increase the likelihood of procedural difficulties, prolong the duration of the examination, reduce patient satisfaction, and elevate the risk of complications. These adverse effects highlight the importance of implementing non-pharmacological strategies aimed at reducing anxiety and improving patient comfort. One such approach-guided visualization or visualized meditation-has gained attention as a simple, cost-effective, and patient-friendly method that promotes relaxation, reduces emotional tension, and supports pain management.

Considering the potential of guided visualization to enhance tolerance to the procedure and improve patient experiences, researchers were motivated to explore its effectiveness in this specific population. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the effect of visualized meditation applied to patients undergoing endoscopy on their levels of anxiety, pain, and comfort.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

72

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Şehitkamil
      • Gaziantep, Şehitkamil, Turkey (Türkiye), 27310
        • Gaziantep University

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients over the age of 18, with no hearing impairment,
  • Students undergoing endoscopy for the first time,
  • Not diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and therefore not on medication,
  • Willing to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who refused to participate in the study, underwent endoscopy for biopsy, or received deep sedation.
  • Patients who volunteered to participate and then wished to withdraw from the study at any stage.

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

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control group
Active Comparator: Visualized meditation group
Visualized meditation for patients who have had an endoscopy
Other: Visualized meditation
In the study, the experimental group will listen to visualized meditation sessions daily, morning and evening, for three days before the endoscopy. On the morning of the endoscopy, patients will be administered a personal information form, STAI1-2, pain scale, and comfort scale. After the procedure, the patients will be taken to the recovery area and will be administered the STAI1-2, pain scale, and comfort scale again.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
VAS Pain and Comfort Scale
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 months
This scale was developed by Price and colleagues (1983). It is used to measure subjective pain and comfort levels. The scale is represented by a 10-cm line representing the lowest and highest pain scores (0: no pain/discomfort, 10: most intolerable pain/discomfort).
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 months
The State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
Time Frame: "From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 months
The State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), developed by Spielberger et al. in 1964, will be used to measure anxiety in this study. The scale has two dimensions: the STAI-S, which measures state anxiety, and the STAI-T, which measures trait anxiety. The STAI-S and STAI-T each consist of 20 items. Items 1-40 on the scale measure anxiety in four ways. The lowest score for both dimensions of the scale is 20, and the highest score is 80. As the score increases, the level of anxiety also increases.
"From enrollment to the end of treatment at 4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Gaziantep

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)

July 14, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 21, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 15, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 28, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

December 3, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

December 3, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 28, 2025

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024/408

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

I do not plan to share your IPD with other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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