Preliminary Study of a Self-Administered Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Comparison to a Wait List Control Group

BACKGROUND: Adolescents with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) frequently experience interference with everyday activities. Mind-body approaches such as yoga have been recommended as interventions for patients with IBS. Despite promising results among adult samples, there have been limited studies exploring the efficacy of yoga with pediatric patients.OBJECTIVE: To conduct a preliminary randomized study of yoga as treatment for adolescents with IBS.METHODS: Twenty-five adolescents aged 11 to 18 years with IBS were randomly assigned to either a yoga or wait list control group. Before the intervention, both groups completed questionnaires assessing gastrointestinal symptoms, pain, functional disability, coping, anxiety and depression. The yoga intervention consisted of a 1 h instructional session, demonstration and practice, followed by four weeks of daily home practice guided by a video. After four weeks, adolescents repeated the baseline questionnaires. The wait list control group then received the yoga intervention and four weeks later completed an additional set of questionnaires.RESULTS: Adolescents in the yoga group reported lower levels of functional disability, less use of emotion-focused avoidance and lower anxiety following the intervention than adolescents in the control group. When the pre- and postintervention data for the two groups were combined, adolescents had significantly lower scores for gastrointestinal symptoms and emotion-focused avoidance following the yoga intervention. Adolescents found the yoga to be helpful and indicated they would continue to use it to manage their IBS.CONCLUSIONS: Yoga holds promise as an intervention for adolescents with IBS.

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Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Young Taiwanese Female Nursing Students with Irritable Bowel Syndrome—A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16050708 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 708 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tzu-Ying Lee ◽

Tsung-Cheng Hsieh ◽

Huei-Chuan Sung ◽

Wan-Lan Chen

Keyword(s):

Nursing Students ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Control Group ◽

Wait List ◽

Wait List Control Group ◽

Wait List Control ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Cluster Randomized ◽

Irritable Bowel

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is prevalent within the general population. Studies have shown that stress and anxiety co-exist with IBS. Young Taiwanese women commonly exhibit physical and psychological health problems caused by academic stress. The purpose of our current study was to evaluate the efficacy of short-term Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) on female nursing students in practicum. We performed a cluster randomized controlled trial comprised of 160 participants who met the inclusion criteria, which were divided into three groups: (1) ICBT, (2) expressive writing (EW), and (3) wait-list control. Treatment interventions lasted for 6 weeks. Levels of anxiety, depression, and IBS symptoms were assessed at four time points, baseline assessment at T0, 2 weeks after T0 (T1), at the end of practicum (T2), and at 3-month follow-up (T3). The results showed that ICBT and EW groups exhibited a significant, yet small, reduction in anxiety and depression at T2 and T3 compared to the wait-list control group. The EW group exhibited significantly greater reduction in anxiety and depression compared to the ICBT group at T2. However, the ICBT group demonstrated greater improvements in alleviating anxiety and depression at T3 compared to the EW group. These data indicate that ICBT and EW groups exhibited small effects on anxiety and depression reduction at T2 and T3 compared to the wait-list control group, with no effects on IBS symptoms in young Taiwanese female nursing students.

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DigiKnowIt News: Educating youth about pediatric clinical trials using an interactive, multimedia educational website

Journal of Child Health Care ◽

10.1177/13674935211003774 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136749352110037

Author(s):

Alison E. Parker ◽

Tracy M. Scull ◽

Abigail M. Morrison

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Interactive Multimedia ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Control Group ◽

Wait List ◽

Wait List Control Group ◽

Wait List Control ◽

Satisfaction Questionnaire ◽

Study Participants

Pediatric clinical trials allow for the testing of appropriate and effective treatments for children. However, some challenges exist with recruitment. This study examined the effectiveness of DigiKnowIt News, an interactive, multimedia website (which includes activities, videos, and comic books) designed to educate children about clinical trials. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2018 with 91 participants ( M age = 10.92 years; SD = 2.06). Participants were randomly assigned to intervention or wait-list control groups and completed questionnaires at pretest and posttest (1 week later) about their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs about clinical trials, and self-efficacy for participating in clinical trials. Participants in the intervention group received access to DigiKnowIt News between pretest and posttest and completed a satisfaction questionnaire at posttest. At the end of the study, participants in the wait-list control group were offered the option to use the website and complete a satisfaction questionnaire. At posttest, participants in the intervention group, compared to participants in the wait-list control group, had more knowledge about clinical trials and more reported confidence for participating in clinical trials. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with DigiKnowIt News. The findings suggest that an educational website can improve factors related to increasing rates of participation in clinical trials.

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Combined Memory Training: An Approach for Episodic Memory Deficits in Traumatic Brain Injury

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-20-00075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (2S) ◽

pp. 920-932

Author(s):

Elisabeth Cochran D'Angelo ◽

Beth A. Ober ◽

Gregory K. Shenaut

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Treatment Group ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Semantic Memory ◽

Memory Deficits ◽

Control Group ◽

Wait List ◽

Wait List Control Group ◽

Wait List Control

Purpose The study aimed to test a combination of semantic memory and traditional episodic memory therapies on episodic memory deficits in adults with traumatic brain injury. Method Twenty-five participants who had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and had episodic memory deficits were randomly assigned either to a combined memory treatment group ( n = 16) or to a wait-list control group ( n = 9). Before and after treatment, they completed standardized neuropsychological testing for episodic memory and related cognitive domains, including the California Verbal Learning Test–Second Edition, the Controlled Oral Word Association Test, the University of Southern California Repeatable Episodic Memory Test, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence–Second Edition Matrices, the Test of Everyday Attention, the Memory Assessment Clinics Self-Rating Scale, the Expressive Vocabulary Test–Second Edition, and the Story Recall subtest from the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test. In addition to a traditional episodic memory therapy, the treatment group received a novel semantic memory–focused therapy, which involved participants finding meaningful connections between diverse concepts represented by sets of two or three words. Results The treatment group demonstrated statistically significant improvement in memory for list learning tasks, and there was a significant difference from pretest to posttest between the treatment group and the wait-list control group. Clinical significance was demonstrated for the treatment group using minimally important difference calculations. Conclusion Combined memory therapy resulted in significant improvements in episodic memory, semantic memory, and attention, in comparison to no treatment. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14049968

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Metta-based group meditation and individual cognitive behavioral therapy (MeCBT) for chronic depression: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Trials ◽

10.1186/s13063-019-3815-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Artjom Frick ◽

Isabel Thinnes ◽

Ulrich Stangier

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Behavioral Therapy ◽

Chronic Depression ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Control Group ◽

Wait List ◽

Wait List Control Group ◽

Wait List Control

Abstract Background Depression is a widespread disorder with severe impacts for individuals and society, especially in its chronic form. Current treatment approaches for persistent depression have focused primarily on reducing negative affect and have paid little attention to promoting positive affect. Previous studies have shown that metta meditation increases positive affect in chronically depressed patients. Results from previous trials provide evidence for the efficacy of a stand-alone metta meditation group treatment in combination with mindfulness-based approaches. Further research is needed to better understand the implementation of meditation practice into everyday life. Therefore, mindfulness and metta meditation in a group setting are combined with individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) into a new, low-intensity, cost-effective treatment (“MeCBT”) for chronic depression. Methods/design In this single-center, randomized, observer-blinded, parallel-group clinical trial we will test the efficacy of MeCBT in reducing depression compared to a wait-list control condition. Forty-eight participants in a balanced design will be allocated randomly to a treatment group or a wait-list control group. Metta-based group meditation will be offered in eight weekly sessions and one additional half-day retreat. Subsequent individual CBT will be conducted in eight fortnightly sessions. Outcome measures will be assessed at four time points: before intervention (T0); after group meditation (T1); after individual CBT (T2); and, in the treated group only, at 6-month follow-up (T3). Changes in depressive symptoms (clinician rating), assessed with the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms (QIDS-C) are the primary outcome. We expect a significant decline of depressive symptoms at T2 compared to the wait-list control group. Secondary outcome measures include self-rated depression, mindfulness, benevolence, rumination, emotion regulation, social connectedness, social functioning, as well as behavioral and cognitive avoidance. We will explore changes at T1 and T2 in all these secondary outcome variables. Discussion To our knowledge this is the first study to combine a group program focusing on Metta meditation with state-of-the art individual CBT specifically tailored to chronic depression. Implications for further refinement and examination of the treatment program are discussed. Trial registration ISRCTN, ISRCTN97264476. Registered 29 March 2018 (applied on 14 December 2017)—retrospectively registered.

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Self-Concept and Relational Concomitants of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Preliminary Study

South African Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1177/008124630103100402 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 13-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

I. Day ◽

A.D. Stuart ◽

H.G. Pretorius

Keyword(s):

Irritable Bowel Syndrome ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Self Concept ◽

Control Group ◽

Social Self ◽

Supportive Relationships ◽

Physiological Mechanisms ◽

Preliminary Study ◽

Formal Relations ◽

Irritable Bowel

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common conditions referred to gastroenterologists, but one of the least well understood. Part of the reason for this is the lack of consensus of opinion regarding the nature of the complaint. A growing body of evidence attests to the fact that, although certain physiological mechanisms exist that may contribute to the disorder, psychological factors also play an important role in the pathogenesis of IBS in a significant proportion of the patients. In particular, a variety of investigations point to a relationship between self-concept and supportive relationships as being important determinants in health outcomes. The purpose of the study was to determine whether statistically significant differences could be found between individuals suffering from IBS and healthy controls in terms of their self-concept and level of adjustment in terms of relationships, by analysing the results obtained on two psychometric questionnaires, namely the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire, and the Adolescent Self-Concept Scale. Statistically significant differences were found between a group of IBS sufferers and a non-IBS control group on the following sub-scales of the Personal, Home, Social and Formal relations Questionnaire: Self-esteem, Nervousness, Health, Family Influences, Personal Influences, Sociability – G, and Moral Sense, with the IBS group achieving higher on these sub-scales. Statistically significant differences were also found in the following dimensions of the Adolescent Self-Concept Scale: Physical Self, Personal Self, Family Self, and Social Self, with the IBS group again achieving higher on these dimensions than the non-IBS group.

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Comparison of Two Group Interventions to Promote Forgiveness: Empathy as a Mediator of Change

Journal of Mental Health Counseling ◽

10.17744/mehc.32.1.274536n518571683 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 35-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Steven Sandage ◽

Everett Worthington

Keyword(s):

Control Group ◽

Wait List ◽

Wait List Control Group ◽

Wait List Control ◽

Care Giving ◽

Behavioral System ◽

Shame Proneness ◽

Post Test ◽

Student Volunteers

Undergraduate student volunteers (N=97) were randomly assigned to one of two six-hour forgiveness psychoeducational seminars or to a wait-list control group. Based on attachment theory, forgiveness was conceptualized in relation to the care-giving behavioral system (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). Both the Empathy Forgiveness Seminar and the Self-enhancement Forgiveness Seminar facilitated forgiveness to a greater degree than the wait-list control group at post-test and six-week follow-up. Empathy mediated changes in participants' forgiveness scores regardless of seminar condition. Shame-proneness was negatively related to post-test forgiveness scores and guilt-proneness was positively related to forgiveness at post-test and follow-up. Implications for interventions are discussed.

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A three-armed cognitive-motor exercise intervention to increase spatial orientation and life-space mobility in nursing home residents: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial in the PROfit project

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-020-01840-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bettina Wollesen ◽

Madeleine Fricke ◽

Carl-Philipp Jansen ◽

Katharina Gordt ◽

Michael Schwenk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Nursing Home ◽

Spatial Orientation ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Nursing Home Residents ◽

Control Group ◽

Wait List ◽

Wait List Control Group ◽

Wait List Control ◽

Randomized Controlled

Abstract Background In nursing home residents, the combination of decreasing mobility and declining cognitive abilities, including spatial orientation, often leads to reduced physical activity (PA) and life-space (LS) mobility. As a consequence of sedentary behavior, there is a lack of social interaction and cognitive stimulation, resulting in low quality of life. It has not yet been examined whether cognitive-motor training including spatial cognitive tasks is suitable to improve spatial orientation and, as a consequence, to enlarge LS mobility, and increase well-being and general cognitive-motor functioning. Therefore, the overall goal of this multicentric randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to compare the effect of three different intervention approaches including functional exercise and orientation tasks on PA, LS and spatial orientation in nursing home residents. Methods A three-arm single-blinded multicenter RCT with a wait-list control group will be conducted in a sample of 513 individuals (needed according to power analysis) in three different regions in Germany. In each nursing home, one of three different intervention approaches will be delivered to participating residents for 12 weeks, twice a week for 45 min each: The PROfit basic group will perform functional strength, balance, flexibility, and walking exercises always at the same location, whereas the PROfit plus group changes the location three times while performing similar/the same exercises as the PROfit basic group. The PROfit orientation group receives navigation tasks in addition to the relocation during the intervention. Physical and cognitive functioning as well as psychological measures will be assessed in all study groups at baseline. Participants will then be randomized into either the intervention group or the wait-list control group. After 12 weeks, and after 24 weeks the measures will be repeated. Discussion This study evaluates whether the three different interventions are feasible to reduce the decline of or even improve PA, LS, and spatial orientation in nursing home residents. By adding different training locations in PROfit plus, the program is expected to be superior to PROfit basic in increasing physical and cognitive parameters. Moreover, we expect the PROfit orientation intervention to be most effective in terms of PA, LS, and spatial orientation due to two mechanisms: (1) increased physical and cognitive activity will enhance cognitive-motor capacity and (2) the spatial training will help to build up cognitive strategies to compensate for age-related loss of spatial orientation abilities and related limitations. Trial registration The trial was prospectively registered at DRKS.de with registration number DRKS00021423 on April 16, 2020 and was granted permission by the Technical University Berlin local ethics committee (No. GR_14_20191217).

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Evaluating Culturally Responsive Group Work with Black Women

Research on Social Work Practice ◽

10.1177/1049731511411488 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 737-746 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Lani V. Jones ◽

Lynn A. Warner

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Black Women ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Group Intervention ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Control Group ◽

Wait List ◽

Wait List Control Group ◽

Wait List Control ◽

Psychosocial Competence

Purpose: This study examined the efficacy of a culturally congruent group treatment model, entitled “Claiming Your Connections” (CYC) aimed at reducing depressive symptoms and perceived stress, and enhancing psychosocial competence (i.e., locus of control and active coping) among Black women. Method: A total of 58 Black women recruited from health and human service community-based organizations were randomly assigned to either the CYC intervention or a wait-list control group. Women in the CYC program attended weekly group intervention sessions over a 10-week period, and the wait-list control group did not receive any treatment for the same duration. Results: At pretreatment both groups indicated moderate levels of depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and psychosocial competence. After the intervention, the CYC group reported a significant reduction in depressive symptoms and perceived stress. There was no statistically significant change on these variables for the control group. Implications: Results suggest that the CYC group intervention program is effective with Black women who report having difficulty managing stressors of daily life.

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Formative Evaluation of a Home-Based Physical Activity Intervention for Adolescent Girls—The HERizon Project: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Children ◽

10.3390/children8020076 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 76

Author(s):

Emma S. Cowley ◽

Paula M. Watson ◽

Lawrence Foweather ◽

Sarahjane Belton ◽

Chiara Mansfield ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Formative Evaluation ◽

Control Group ◽

Wait List ◽

Muscular Endurance ◽

Body Appreciation ◽

Wait List Control Group ◽

Wait List Control ◽

Home Based

Background. This is a formative evaluation study of the HERizon Project, a home-based multi-component physical activity (PA) intervention for adolescent girls in the UK and Ireland. Although not intended, this study coincided with the initial COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Methods. A total of 42 female participants, aged 13 to 16 years old (mean = 14.2, SD = 1.1), were randomly allocated to: (i) the HERizon group (n = 22) or (ii) the wait-list control group (n = 20). Participants in the six-week HERizon group were asked to complete three PA sessions each week and engage in weekly behaviour change support video calls. The primary outcome measure was self-reported habitual PA. Secondary outcomes measures included cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle run), muscular strength (standing long jump), muscular endurance (push up test), and psychosocial outcomes (Perceived Competence Scale, Body Appreciation Scale, Self-Esteem Questionnaire, Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire). Quantitative and qualitative process evaluation data were also collected. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and after the six-week intervention. Results. There was no significant change in habitual PA between groups (LMM group*time interaction: p = 0.767). The HERizon group had significantly increased cardiorespiratory fitness (p = 0.001), muscular endurance (p = 0.022), intrinsic motivation (p = 0.037), and body appreciation (p < 0.003) in comparison to the wait-list control group. All participants in the intervention group completed the intervention and compliance to the intervention was high (participants completed 18 ± 2 sessions). Conclusions. Although no change in PA was observed, HERizon resulted in improved physical fitness and psychosocial outcomes. These preliminary findings, alongside positive findings for feasibility and acceptability, highlight potential benefits from the home-based intervention, thus further investigation is warranted.

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