Chaplain-Delivered Compassion Meditation to Improve Spiritual Care of Patients Receiving Stem Cell Transplantation

NCT06328699 | Active Not Recruiting DMC

• 4 other identifiers: STUDY00006456EU6011-23K01AT010488P30CA138292
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 50
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This clinical trial tests the feasibility, implementation and acceptability of chaplain delivered compassion meditation in order to improve spiritual care for patients receiving stem cell transplantation. Hospital chaplains play a vital role in delivering emotional and spiritual care to a broad range of both religious and non-religious patients for a wide variety of stressors, and extensive research indicates that spiritual consults impact patient outcomes and satisfaction. Compassion meditation is a secularized, research-based mindfulness and compassion meditation program designed to expand and strengthen compassion for self and others. Practices include training in attentional stability and increased emotional awareness, as well as targeted reflections to appreciate one's relationship with self and others. By centering the mind, controlling debilitating ruminative thoughts, and cultivating personal resiliency and an inclusive and more accurate understanding of others. Engaging in chaplain delivered compassion meditation may improve the spiritual care for patients receiving stem cell transplantation.

Conditions

Lymphoma; Multiple Myeloma

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Feasibility - patient enrollment and treatment-specific retention rates

  Will measure and characterize the proportion of eligible patient screens who enroll and treatment-specific retention rates.

  Up to 8 months

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Patient Characteristics Affecting Acceptability - Chaplain Satisfaction Survey

  Up to 8 months

• Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant [FACT-BMT]

  Up to 8 months

• Acceptability - Chaplain Satisfaction Survey

  Up to 8 months

Study Arms (2)

Arm I (Chaplain delivered compassion meditation)

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients receive chaplain led compassionate centered spiritual health sessions over 30 minutes, twice per week for up to 2 weeks.

Procedure: Spiritual Therapy

Arm II (Traditional chaplain consultation)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Patients receive a traditional chaplain consultation and care upon request, per standard of care.

Other: Best Practice

Interventions

Spiritual Therapy PROCEDURE

Undergo chaplain led compassionate centered spiritual health sessions

Arm I (Chaplain delivered compassion meditation)

Best Practice OTHER

Receive a traditional chaplain consultation and will receive care upon request

Also known as: best practice, standard of care, standard of care, standard therapy

Arm II (Traditional chaplain consultation)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• PATIENT: Within 6 weeks of scheduled hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT)
• PATIENT: \> 18 years of age
• PATIENT: Speak and read English
• CHAPLAIN: Emory Healthcare chaplain

You may not qualify if:

• PATIENT: Patients will be excluded if they are cognitively impaired, on a ventilator, or are in a room requiring enteric precautions or airborne precautions (e.g., use of an N-95 mask requiring fit-testing) to enter

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Emory University: lead
• National Cancer Institute (NCI): collaborator
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Emory University Hospital/Winship Cancer Institute

Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Lymphoma; Multiple Myeloma

Interventions

Spiritual Therapies; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Standard of Care

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Lymphatic Diseases; Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Immune System Diseases; Neoplasms, Plasma Cell; Hemostatic Disorders; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Paraproteinemias; Blood Protein Disorders; Hematologic Diseases; Hemorrhagic Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Guidelines as Topic; Quality Assurance, Health Care; Quality of Health Care; Health Services Administration; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Quality Indicators, Health Care

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 4, 2023
• First Posted: March 25, 2024
• Study Start: October 30, 2023
• Primary Completion: November 13, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 15, 2026
• Last Updated: August 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Locations

US (1)