Breaking Silence Through Story: A Narrative Medicine Intervention for Parents of Children With Urogenital Conditions

Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Behavioral
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY

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
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 18
Healthy Volunteers: t
View:

• Parent or legal guardian of a child (age 0-17 years) diagnosed with a urogenital condition (differences of sex development and/or hypospadias)

• Able to read and understand English

• Child receives care at Boston Children's Hospital

• 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

• Able to provide informed consent

Locations
United States
Massachusetts
Boston Children's Hospital
RECRUITING
Boston
Contact Information
Primary
Sarah Schlegel, MD, MS
Journaling@childrens.harvard.edu
617-355-3523
Time Frame
Start Date: 2025-10-10
Estimated Completion Date: 2026-05
Participants
Target number of participants: 20
Treatments
Experimental: Narrative Medicine Journaling Intervention
All participants in this single-arm pilot study will complete baseline GAD-7 anxiety assessments, participate in a guided journaling program, complete follow-up GAD-7 assessments, and take part in a qualitative interview. Parents of children with urogenital conditions (differences of sex development and hypospadias) will receive the narrative medicine intervention over a period of several weeks, with pre- and post-intervention anxiety measurements and interview assessments.
Related Therapeutic Areas
Sponsors
Collaborators: Harvard Catalyst Pilot Grant
Leads: Sarah Schlegel

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov