Breaking Silence Through Story: A Narrative Medicine Intervention for Parents of Children With Urogenital Conditions
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorSarah Schlegel
About this trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a journaling intervention can reduce stress and anxiety in parents of children with urogenital conditions (such as differences of sex development and hypospadias).
The main questions it aims to answer are:
* Does guided journaling help to reduce anxiety levels in parents of children with urogenital conditions? * What are parents' perspectives on group-based writing interventions for future support programs?
Participants will:
* Complete a short anxiety questionnaire (the General Anxiety Disorder-7 scale) at the beginning of the study * Receive a physical journal with 5 writing prompts designed to help process emotions related to their child's condition * Complete 5 journal entries over several weeks, writing about their experiences and feelings * Complete the same anxiety questionnaire again after finishing the journal entries * Participate in a 45-minute interview to discuss how the journaling affected their stress levels and gather feedback on potential group-based writing programs
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Parent or legal guardian of a child (age 0-17 years) diagnosed with a urogenital condition (such as differences of sex development or hypospadias)
Able to read and understand English
Willing to complete a guided journaling intervention (through writing or dictation) over a period of approximately 5 weeks
Willing to participate in a 45 minute follow-up interview
Disqualifiers
Parent/guardian with severe psychiatric disorder that would interfere with participation as determined by referring physician
Parent/guardian unable to complete either written journaling activities or dictation
Inability to provide informed consent
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Narrative Medicine Journaling Intervention
Treatment groups
20 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment groupSponsors and collaborators
Sarah Schlegel
Lead sponsor
Boston Children's Hospital
Sponsor institution
Harvard Catalyst Pilot Grant
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov