A Pre-post Pilot of a Smartphone Intervention

Starting soon · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Mental Health Issue, Breast Cancer

In brief

Digital mental and behavioral health interventions have potential to significantly improve accessibility for the large number of breast cancer survivors who need treatments. However, the landscape of digital interventions tested in this population remains limited, with the few that have been tested primarily focused on reducing symptoms of mental disorders. This is problematic given the range of psychosocial needs among breast cancer survivors, including those who may not have active mental health symptoms, yet could benefit from learning effective coping skills. Digital health interventions delivered through smartphones have strong potential to improve access to care for the large number of breast cancer survivors who need mental and behavioral health support. There is a need to evaluate a range of supportive interventions that target different aspects of mental health, including negative thinking, coping skills, and knowledge. Our research team has previously tested individual digital interventions in relatively small samples, and found that they were effective in reducing mood symptoms among women with breast cancer. The ultimate goal of this project is to evaluate how integrating these interventions into a single 8-week long app program affects mood and overall mental health in breast cancer survivors. The digital micro-interventions to be tested in this study are brief interventions that target specific behavioral and cognitive mechanisms of mental health. These include skills such as reducing negative thinking patterns, increasing knowledge of mental health factors, fostering a grateful outlook, promoting the practice of relaxation breathing, savoring positive memories, and acceptance-based mindfulness approaches.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07665346

Run by

University of Virginia

People needed

44

Starts

2026-07-01

Expected to finish

2026-09-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-06-24

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• age = 18 years
• 0-5 years post-diagnosis of Stage I, II, or III female breast cancer
• elevated symptoms of depression and/or anxiety as measured by the PHQ-8 (score > 9) or GAD-7 (score > 7).

You may not qualify if…

• receiving individual (1 on 1) treatment for depression and/or anxiety to avoid treatment interference (note, individuals will be permitted to enroll if they are taking antidepressant medication and have not had an appointment to adjust the dosage over the past 2 weeks)
• active suicidal ideation during the enrollment/screening call based on a trained staff member orally administering the suicidality item from the PHQ-9 to individuals on the phone ("In the last 2 weeks, have you had thoughts that you would be better off dead, or thoughts of hurting yourself in some way?"). If an individual responds in any way other than "not at all" based on the available response options (i.e., either "several days", "more than half the days", or "nearly every day"), or if they mention having suicidal ideation or thoughts of death during the enrollment/screening call, the Pitt-Optimum risk assessment tool will be administered. Only participants deemed low risk may proceed in enrollment; all will be given additional resources
• do not have an app-compatible phone
• cannot read and speak English (intervention and measures only available in English).

Where it is running

• University of Virginia — Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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