The Effects of a Smartphone-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program on the Mental Health and Quality of Life of Caregivers Working in Long-Term Care Facilities

July 18, 2026 updated by: Woosang Hwang, Sookmyung Women's University

The Effects of a Smartphone-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program on the Mental Health and Quality of Life of Caregivers Working in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study

The aim of this study is to investigate whether a smartphone-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) program can improve the mental health and quality of life of care workers in long-term care facilities. The research question of this study is as follows: Among caregivers working in long-term care facilities, are there differences in mental health, quality of life, and job burnout between the experimental group that participated in a smartphone-based ACT program and the control group that participated in a document-based ACT program?

Participants in the experimental group will complete 70 daily sessions of a smartphone-based ACT program using Anzeilax-Plus, administered Monday through Friday over a 14-week period. Participants in the control group will complete 70 daily assignments from a document-based ACT program, administered Monday through Friday over the same 14-week period.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

140

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 Contact

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Caregivers aged 18 years or older who provide care services to older adults in long-term care facilities, own a smartphone, and have no history of depression or other mental illnesses.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Caregivers with a history of depression or other mental illnesses, or those who do not own a smartphone.

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Mobile-based ACT group
One daily session of the smartphone-based ACT program delivered through the Anzeilax-Plus app
Other: Mobile-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) program
Participants will complete a daily Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) session through a mobile application on their smartphones.
Active Comparator: Document-based ACT group
One daily session of the document-based ACT program
Other: Document-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Program
Participants will complete a daily Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) session using materials provided by the research team.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Depressive symptoms will be measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, a 9-item self-report measure. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale, with total scores ranging from 9 to 36. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depressive symptoms.
From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Anxiety
Time Frame: From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Anxiety will be measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, a 7-item self-report measure. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale, with total scores ranging from 7 to 28. Higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety.
From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Stress
Time Frame: From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Stress will be measured using the Perceived Stress Scale-10, a 10-item self-report measure. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale, with total scores ranging from 10 to 50. Higher scores indicate higher levels of stress.
From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Self-esteem
Time Frame: From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Self-esteem will be measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, a 10-item self-report measure. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale, with total scores ranging from 10 to 50. Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-esteem
From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Job burnout
Time Frame: From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Job burnout will be measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, a 15-item self-report measure. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale, with total scores ranging from 15 to 75. Higher scores indicate higher levels of job burnout.
From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Quality of life (Psychological and physical well-being)
Time Frame: From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)
Quality of life will be measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale a 15-item self-report measure. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale, with total scores ranging from 15 to 75. Higher scores indicate higher levels of quality of life.
From enrollment to Week 7 (mid-intervention) and Week 14 (end of the intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Sookmyung Women's University

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)

July 27, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 15, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 18, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • SMWU-2604-HR-020-01
  • RS-2026-25477485 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Research Foundation of Korea)

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

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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