Scheduled Meditation for Improving Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Pancreatectomy

May 19, 2026 updated by: City of Hope Medical Center

Scheduled Meditation for Perioperative Optimization: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Postoperative Outcomes, Pain, Anxiety, Insomnia, Stress, and Mobility in Pancreatectomy Patients

This clinical trial tests the feasibility and how well a scheduled meditation intervention works to improve postoperative outcomes such as pain, anxiety, insomnia, stress and mobility for patients undergoing pancreatectomy. Many patients undergoing pancreatectomy surgery report clinically important fatigue, pain, and/or reduction in quality of life. Meditation is a behavioral intervention that has been studied in a variety of medical and surgical settings, where it has been associated with reductions in pain, anxiety, blood pressure, and lack of sleep, and in some cases with decreased pain and shorter length of stay. The meditation intervention using Headspace is an easily accessible and interactive way to complete scheduled meditation. This may improve postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing pancreatectomy.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Evaluate the feasibility of implementing a meditation-based intervention in patients undergoing pancreatectomy, as measured by recruitment, retention, and participant compliance with the prescribed modules II. Evaluate the effect of a perioperative meditation intervention on anxiety, as measured by changes in State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores from baseline to one month postoperatively.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To observe the relationship of meditation intervention on change in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes for pain and sleep quality from baseline through one month postoperatively.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive access to the Headspace application. Patients complete mindfulness meditation including focused breathing, awareness of thought patterns, and management of mind-wandering for 10 minutes once daily (QD) for 3 weeks prior to surgery and twice daily (BID) for 1 month after surgery. Patients wear a Garmin activity tracker throughout the study.

ARM II: Patients receive access to the Headspace application at the time of hospital discharge and will be informed of the availability of the "Basics" meditation pack. Patients wear a Garmin activity tracker throughout the study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

70

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

  • United States
    • California
      • Duarte, California, United States, 91010
        • City of Hope Medical Center
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Bradford Kim

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:

  • Documented informed consent of the participant and/or legally authorized representative
  • Willing to install required apps on personal smartphone
  • Willing to wear a Garmin wearable device throughout the study
  • Age: ≥ 18 years
  • Ability to read and understand English for questionnaires
  • Owns a smartphone
  • Comfortable with routine smartphone use
  • Scheduled to undergo pancreatectomy

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants with prior formal training in meditation or mindfulness (e.g., completion of structured courses, workshops, or certification programs)
  • Participants who currently engage in a structured meditation or mindfulness practice, including regular use of mobile applications (e.g., Headspace, Calm, or similar platforms) or other formalized routines

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm I (Headspace meditation)
Patients receive access to the Headspace application. Patients complete mindfulness meditation including focused breathing, awareness of thought patterns, and management of mind-wandering, for 10 minutes QD for 3 weeks prior to surgery and BID for 1 month after surgery. Patients wear a Garmin activity tracker throughout the study.
Other: Survey Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Actigraphy
Wear activity tracker
Behavioral: Online Mindfulness Meditation
Complete mindfulness mediation
Other Names:
  • Online MBSR
  • Online Mindful Meditation
  • Web-Based Mindfulness Meditation
  • Online Mindfulness Relaxation
  • Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Behavioral: Smartphone Application-based Intervention
Receive access to Headspace
Other Names:
  • Smartphone App-based Intervention
  • Smartphone Intervention
  • Smartphone-based Intervention
Experimental: Arm II (Delayed access to Headspace)
Patients receive access to the Headspace application at the time of hospital discharge and will be informed of the availability of the "Basics" meditation pack. Patients wear a Garmin activity tracker throughout the study.
Other: Survey Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Actigraphy
Wear activity tracker
Behavioral: Online Mindfulness Meditation
Complete mindfulness mediation
Other Names:
  • Online MBSR
  • Online Mindful Meditation
  • Web-Based Mindfulness Meditation
  • Online Mindfulness Relaxation
  • Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Behavioral: Smartphone Application-based Intervention
Receive access to Headspace
Other Names:
  • Smartphone App-based Intervention
  • Smartphone Intervention
  • Smartphone-based Intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of enrolled patients who complete the final study assessment (retention)
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Retention will be considered feasible if ≥ 70% of enrolled participants are retained. Will be estimated along with the 95% exact binomial confidence interval.
Up to 6 months
Proportion of prescribed meditation modules completed (compliance)
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Each participant's proportion of completed meditation modules will be calculated using usage data from the Headspace mobile application. Participants will then be classified as high (> 60%), medium (20-60%), or low (< 20%) compliance. Will be estimated along with the 95% exact binomial confidence interval.
Up to 6 months
Change in patient-reported anxiety symptoms
Time Frame: From baseline up to day 28
Measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Response is defined as a reduction of at least 6 points on STAI at date of surgery date relative to baseline. The proportion of participants meeting this threshold will be reported. Will be estimated along with the 95% exact binomial confidence interval. Within-group mean change in STAI will be examined using paired t-tests (comparing any two time points of interest).
From baseline up to day 28
Proportion of invited patients who agree to participate (recruitment)
Time Frame: Up to 6 months
Recruitment will be considered feasible if ≥ 50% of eligible patients enroll. Will be estimated along with the 95% exact binomial confidence interval.
Up to 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in patient-reported pain - Numeric Rating Scale
Time Frame: rom the baseline assessment conducted three weeks prior to surgery through one month after surgery.
Change in patient-reported pain from baseline three weeks prior to surgery through one month postoperatively, measured using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS, 0 -10 ). 0 means no pain to 10 means worst pain possible.
rom the baseline assessment conducted three weeks prior to surgery through one month after surgery.
Change in patient-reported pain - Brief Pain Inventory
Time Frame: From the baseline assessment conducted three weeks prior to surgery up to one month after surgery.
Change in patient-reported pain from baseline three weeks prior to surgery through one month postoperatively, measured using the Brief Pain Inventory.(BPI). 0 means no pain to 10 means worst pain possible.
From the baseline assessment conducted three weeks prior to surgery up to one month after surgery.
Change in patient-reported Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Time Frame: From baseline up to one month after surgery.
Self-reported questionnaire will be used to measure sleep quality and sleep patterns over the past month. PSQI will be interpreted by totaling the component scores into a global score ranging from 0 to 21, where higher scores indicate poorer sleep quality; a score greater than 5 generally suggests significant sleep disturbance or poor sleep quality.
From baseline up to one month after surgery.
Change in patient-reported Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)
Time Frame: From baseline up to one month after surgery.
Self-reported questionnaire will be used to assess the severity and impact of insomnia symptoms, including difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and the effect of sleep problems on daily functioning. The ISI is interpreted using a total score from 0 to 28: 0-7 indicates no clinically significant insomnia, 8-14 indicates subthreshold insomnia, 15-21 indicates moderate insomnia, and 22-28 indicates severe insomnia.
From baseline up to one month after surgery.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

City of Hope Medical Center

Collaborators

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Bradford Kim, City of Hope Medical Center

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 (Estimated)

June 25, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 25, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 25, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 13, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 19, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 19, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 25479 (Other Identifier: City of Hope Medical Center)
  • P30CA033572 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • NCI-2026-03206 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

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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