NCT06052904

Music Breathing for Caregivers of Children Newly Diagnosed With Cancer

mHealth-delivered Music Breathing Therapy to Enhance Resilience and Improve Quality of Life of Caregivers of Children Newly Diagnosed With Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (actual)
• Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This proposed pilot randomised controlled trial aims to examine the effect of mobile health-delivered music breathing therapy in enhancing resilience, reducing psychological distress and caregiver strain, and improving the coping and quality of life of parental caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer.

Detailed description

Parents of children with cancer experience considerable stress and distress from the time of their child's life-threatening diagnosis. Music therapy, for example, music breathing therapy, has been increasingly used as a nonpharmacological care strategy in the healthcare field. Music breathing therapy is an adaptation of the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music. It has demonstrated promising potential for enhancing resilience and alleviating psychological distress among diverse populations, including women with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, individuals with work-related stress and caregivers of dementia patients. However, it is unclear whether this is a feasible and acceptable approach to enhance resilience, reduce psychological distress, and improve the quality of life of Chinese caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer. Aims: * To assess the effects of a mobile health-delivered music breathing therapy in enhancing resilience, reducing psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) and caregiver strain, and improving coping and quality of life of parental caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer * To determine the feasibility (in terms of recruitment rates, dropout rates, engagement rates, randomization process, and intervention delivery mode), and acceptability of the intervention. Hypotheses: It is hypothesized that compared with caregivers who receive usual care, those who receive the mHealth-delivered music breathing therapy will report higher levels of resilience (primary outcome), lower levels of psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) and caregiver strain, better coping and quality of life at the 2-month (immediately after intervention) and 6-month follow-ups.

Conditions

• Oncology
• Psychological Distress

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	mHealth-delivered music breathing therapy	Parental caregivers in the intervention group will receive individual home-based music breathing therapy comprising eight 1-hour weekly sessions for 2 months delivered through Zoom, by a qualified music therapist based on a standardized and validated music breathing instruction manual. The music breathing therapy comprises four breathing phases, namely "Discovery Breathing", "Triangular Breathing", "Silent Breathing", and "Music Breathing". In each session, participants will practice breathing for approximately 20-25 minutes in silence or with music in a sitting position. Thereafter, the participants will be instructed to create a Mandala drawing to visualize the effects of breathing on their mental body image, emotions, and thoughts. Each session will end with a debriefing session, which will serve to verbally integrate and reflect the participants' experiences and mental states.
BEHAVIORAL	Online educational modules	Participants in the control group will receive eight weekly online educational modules via email for 2 months. The content of the online educational modules will include medical information and advice about caring for a child who has been newly diagnosed with cancer.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-10-03
• Primary completion: 2025-04-02
• Completion: 2025-04-02
• First posted: 2023-09-25
• Last updated: 2025-09-10

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Hong Kong