Purpose

This research study is evaluating the efficacy of a novel self-administered digital application for improving sexual health outcomes, quality of life, and psychological distress in hematopoietic stem cell transplant survivors.

Conditions

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Adult patients (> 18 years) who underwent autologous or allogeneic HCT > three months prior to study enrollment - Screen positive for sexual health concerns causing distress based on the National Comprehensive Network (NCCN) survivorship guidelines screening questions

Exclusion Criteria

  • Patients who do not comprehend English or Spanish since SHIFT will only be available in these two languages for this efficacy trial. - Patients with any major uncontrolled psychiatric disorder or other comorbid cognitive conditions, which the treating HCT clinician believes would prohibit the patients' capacity to provide informed consent and participate in study procedures.

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Supportive Care
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
SHIFT Intervention Group
SHIFT is a self-administered, multi-component digital application for HCT survivors, incorporating several features to promote engagement and health behavior change, and includes gamification strategies, videos of HCT survivors, intimacy exercises, and optional content.
  • Behavioral: SHIFT Intervention Group
    Participants assigned to SHIFT will meet with their HCT clinician for a brief medical examination to assess the need for medications for erectile dysfunction, vaginal atrophy, or genital graft-versus-host disease; and start using SHIFT at their desired pace over 8 weeks to complete five modules.
Active Comparator
Enhanced Usual Care Group
Patients assigned to enhanced usual care group will not receive access to the SHIFT application. They will meet with their HCT clinician and maybe referred to specialist care at the patients' request or at the discretion of the HCT clinician.
  • Behavioral: Enhanced Usual Care Group
    Participants assigned to the enhanced usual care group will meet with their HCT clinician for a brief medical examination to assess the need for medications for erectile dysfunction, vaginal atrophy, or genital graft-versus-host disease; and maybe referred to a psychologist, urologist, or gynecologist at the participants' request or at the discretion of the HCT clinician.

Recruiting Locations

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
Boston, Massachusetts 02114
Contact:
Areej El-Jawahri, MD
617-724-4000
ael-jawahri@mgb.org

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Massachusetts General Hospital

Study Contact

Areej El-Jawahri, MD
617-724-4000
ael-jawahri@mgb.org

Detailed Description

Autologous and Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) are potentially curative treatments for many patients with hematologic malignancies and benign hematologic conditions. The use of HCT has increased over the last decade. HCT survivors experience a substantial and drastic deterioration in their sexual function that persists for many years post-HCT. Sexual dysfunction is the most common long-term complication in HCT survivors. Sexual health problems have negative consequences on patients' quality of life (QOL) and mood, including the individual's identity and self-esteem, fatigue, relationship discord, intimacy problems, and distress. The etiology of sexual dysfunction in HCT survivors is multi-factorial, and can stem from biological, interpersonal, psychological, and social factors. Given the multi-factorial nature underlying sexual dysfunction in this population, a multimodal approach is required to address them. Clinicians lack sufficient training to address sexual health problems in HCT survivors. HCT survivors report having little communication with their clinicians about sexual health. HCT survivors would benefit from interventions to empower them to communicate with their clinicians about their sexual health. Despite the well-documented burden of sexual dysfunction in HCT survivors, interventions tailored to address their unique sexual health concerns are lacking. Given the multi-factorial nature of sexual health concerns in HCT survivors, interventions must address these diverse needs, and should therefore ideally be addressed by a multidisciplinary team of sexual health experts, psychologists, gynecologists, and urologists. Although a few transplant centers have a multidisciplinary sexual health clinic, the lack of professionals trained in addressing sexual health concerns severely limits the dissemination of such a complex service model. In addition, HCT survivors often find it difficult to attend multiple clinic appointments and coordinate their care among various specialists. Limited availability of sexual health clinicians also hinders the scalability and dissemination of sexual health interventions to address the needs of HCT survivors. Digital health interventions can enhance access and broad dissemination of psychological and supportive care interventions and will enable patients to access the intervention in the privacy of their home given the sensitivity of the topic, engage their partners with the content, and avoid additional clinic visits. A successful evidence-based sexual health intervention was adapted to a digital app for HCT survivors. The active components of an in-person sexual health intervention for HCT survivors were leveraged to develop the self-administered digital application, Sexual Health and Intimacy Following Transplant (SHIFT) to address the sexual health concerns of HCT survivors. This multi-site randomized trial will test the efficacy SHIFT for improving sexual health outcomes, quality of life, and psychological distress in HCT survivors.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.