An interventional study of Self-guided digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and FM symptom tracking app (FM-ST) in Fibromyalgia, sponsored by Fundació Sant Joan de Déu. Recruiting at 2 sites in Spain. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-23.
Sponsored by Fundació Sant Joan de Déu · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a prevalent syndrome that lacks curative treatment, imposing high healthcare and societal costs. The SMART-FM-Spain study investigates the effectiveness, physiological effects, and cost-utility of a self-guided digital intervention (STANZA-Spain) based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for patients with FM.
Methodology: Six-month, 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) A total of 360 adult individuals meeting the 2016 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for FM will be recruited at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona, Spain), The Rheumatology Service of the Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu (Sant Boi, Spain), The San Juan de Dios Hospital of Palma (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) and The San Juan de Dios Hospital of Aljarafe (Sevilla, Spain). They will be randomly allocated to one of the three study arms: Treatment as usual (TAU) plus STANZA-Spain, TAU plus digital symptom tracking (FibroST), or TAU. Participants will be assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 6 month-follow-up. The primary outcome will be functional impairment, as measured by the FIQR; secondary outcomes will include patient impression of change, depression-anxiety-stress, and pain catastrophizing, among others constructs relevant to FM. Effectiveness and cost-utility analysis from a societal perspective will be computed, whereas ACT-related constructs, such as psychological flexibility, will be assessed to identify processes of change that will be analyzed with path analyses. Immune-inflamatory biomarkers will be assessed at baseline and post-treatment in 30-40 participants of each study arm. Additionally, a qualitative substudy using focus group thematic analysis will be conducted to deepen the understanding of STANZA app user experiences.
Discussion: This study might represent a significant advancement in the management of FM in Spanish-speaking patients with FM, by examining the effectiveness, physiological effects, and cost-utility of a smartphone-based digital therapeutic with demonstrated empirical support in the United States of America.
Main goals of the SMART-FM-SP study The main objectives of this RCT are: To analyze the effectiveness of adding Acceptance and Commitment Therapy via app (STANZA) compared to an active control arm (Fibro Symptom Tracker app -FibroST-) to the treatment as usual (TAU) for patients diagnosed of fibromyalgia; To examine the cost-utility of STANZA from healthcare and societal perspectives; To measure a set of immune-inflmmatory biomarkers alongside the RCT in order to know the physiological underpinnings of the digital intervention STANZA and to identify potential predictors of treatment response.
Smart-FM-SP is a 6-months RCT with three arms: TAU, TAU+STANZA and TAU+FibroST. Therefore, patients in three arms will receive TAU, and FibroACT and FibroST will be complementary treatments to the standard one provided in the public Health System.
1,243 studies on the registry are indexed under Fibromyalgia; 256 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 360 is above the median of 60 across 937 interventional studies indexed under Fibromyalgia.
Browse Fibromyalgia studies →Fundació Sant Joan de Déu is the lead sponsor of 70 studies on the registry; 19 are open to participants now.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Exclusion criteria for biomarkers substudy (30-50 patients in each study arm):
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Digital Acceptance and Commitment Terapy (ACT). It consists of 41 structured ACT lessons, incorporating mindfulness practices and daily activities to facilitate behavior change and promote gradual pacing of daily activities and exercise. The core content was designed to be completed within 8 weeks, with a 4-week maintenance period thereafter to strengthen skills.
Device: Self-guided digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy · Behavioral: Treatment as Usual (TAU)
A digital active control intervention is implemented to control for study engagement, expectations, and healthcare provider interaction biases. Components of this active comparator include daily symptom and function tracking (Daily Symptom Tracker), symptom and function monitoring, and access to health education articles about fibromyalgia.
Device: FM symptom tracking app (FM-ST) · Behavioral: Treatment as Usual (TAU)
Usual care is mainly carried out by general practitioners and rheumatologists through regular consultations. Clinicians prescribe medications and provide some counselling.
Behavioral: Treatment as Usual (TAU)
Smartphone-based mobile health application (app) that delivers a self-guided, evidence-based ACT program tailored to the management of FM. This investigational digital therapeutic, referred to herein as STANZA, was inspired by a web-based ACT program for FM validated by University of Manitoba and was recently granted De Novo clearance by the U.S. FDA. The app delivers ACT in 15- to 20-minute daily doses over the course of 12 weeks with minimal involvement of healthcare providers. The program consists of interactive educational materials that teach ACT skills which are reinforced experientially via values exploration and identification, mindfulness, and relaxation exercises. Values-based assignments follow each lesson to assist patients in incorporating ACT skills into their daily lives. Uniquely, STANZA teaches additional skills, including self-guided physical exercise and pacing daily activities via a personally customized stepwise, gradual approach.
Based on the same platform as STANZA, FM-ST enables self-guided daily tracking of patient-reported symptoms and functioning. Symptom tracking is commonly used in chronic pain management. FM-ST also provides access to educational materials relevant to FM and general health but does not provide any psychotherapy or healthcare professional involvement. This app mitigates potential expectation, treatment time and attention, and healthcare provider interaction biases that often occur in chronic pain studies that utilize passive comparison conditions.
Usual care is mainly carried out by general practitioners and specialists in regular consultations, commonly consisting of face-to-face visits to monitor the physical and emotional status of the patient. Clinicians usually provide advice about physical exercise, diet, etc., and prescribe pharmacotherapy (pain medications, hypnotics and antidepressants)
Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire Revised (FIQR)
The FIQR includes 21 items that are answered on a 0-10 numerical scale in which higher scores indicate greater functional impairment. The FIQR assesses the impact of FM symptoms over the past 7 days. The questionnaire consists of items that cover three domains: physical impairment, overall impact, and symptom severity. These items inquire about various aspects such as pain, energy levels, stiffness, sleep quality, depression, memory problems, anxiety, sensitivity to touch, balance issues, and heightened sensitivity to noises, lights, smells, or temperatures. The total FIQR score is calculated by summing the scores of the three subscales, resulting in a range of 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate a greater level of impairment. The Spanish version of the FIQR has an excellent internal consistency (α = 0.91-0.95)
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
The Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) and the Pain Specific Impression of Change (PSIC)
This instrument is an indicator of meaningful clinical change in treatments for chronic pain. The PGIC is one item (on a 7-point numerical scale, from 1 = 'Much better' to 7 = 'Much worse') referred to the participants' perception of global improvement due to treatment. It has undergone validation in the context of psychologically-based treatments for chronic pain. Additionally, the PSIC evaluates (also on a 7-point Likert scale) changes in specific domains, including physical and social functioning, work-related activities, mood, and pain. Both the PGIC \& PSIC scales will be completed by participants assigned to STANZA and FM-ST treatments.
Time frame: At 3 and 6-months follow-up
The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21)
It discriminates between features of depression, anxiety and stress in clinical and non-clinical samples. Responders are required to indicate the presence of several symptoms over the previous week. Each item is scored from 0 (´Did not apply to me at all over the last week') to 3 ('applied to me very much or most of the time over the past week'). There are 7 items on each of the three subscales: depression, anxiety and stress. Therefore, total scores in each scale can range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating more severe levels of depression, anxiety and stress. The Spanish version has excellent psychometric properties.
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
The Multidimensional Inventory of Subjective Cognitive Impairment (MISCI)
It is a 10-item self-report measure of subjective cognitive dysfunction in FM during the last week. Each item is scored from 1 ('Not at all/Never') to 5 ('Very much/Always') and the total score ranges from 10 to 50. Lower scores indicate higher cognitive dysfunction. The MISCI was developed through classical test theory and item response theory from cognitive functioning item banks developed within the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). The Spanish version of the MISCI has excellent internal reliability (α = 0.91)
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
The Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS)
Scale of 13 items comprising three dimensions: rumination over pain, magnification of pain and helplessness in the face of pain symptoms. The PCS total score and subscale scores are computed as the sum of ratings for each item. This study uses the total score, which can vary from 0 to 52 with higher scores indicating greater pain catastrophising.
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS)
12-item scale that assesses psychological inflexibility in patients with pain and includes two factors: avoidance and cognitive fusion with pain. For this study, only the total score is used; it ranges from 12 to 84, with higher scores indicating higher level of psychological inflexibility.
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months.
Psy-Flex
This brief 6-item questionnaire assesses psychological flexibility during the past week. It is based on the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model (ACT; Hayes et al.), which identifies six core dimensions of psychological flexibility: acceptance, cognitive defusion, contact with the present moment, self-as-context, values, and committed action. Each item is answered on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 ("very rarely") to 5 ("very frequently"). The total score is obtained by summing the responses of the six items; higher scores reflect a higher level of psychological flexibility.
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months.
Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8)
This scale is composed of 12 items and it measures measure psychological inflexibility in people with chronic pain. It consists of two subscales: avoidance and cognitive fusion in relation to pain. Each item is answered on a 7-point Likert scale, where 1 means "never true" and 7 "always true". The total score ranges between 12 and 84, and higher scores indicate a greater degree of psychological inflexibility.
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months.
EuroQoL (EQ-5D-5L)
Instrument for evaluating health-related quality of life. The EQ-5D-5L scores will be used to calculate the Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) for the cost-utility analysis
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
Client Service Receipt Inventory (CSRI)
The version used in this study is designed to retrospectively collect information on the use of health and social services during the previous six months. This instrument does not provide total or sub-scale scores, only collects information about use of services and medication consumption.
Time frame: Baseline and 6- months follow-up
mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ)
It consists of 21 items grouped into three dimensions: usability and satisfaction, system information arrangement, and efficiency. Responses are recorded on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 ("strongly agree") to 7 ("strongly disagree"). Values closer to 1 indicate higher usability of the application. For this study, only the usability and satisfaction dimension will be used.
Time frame: At 3 and 6-months follow-up
Adverse effects of therapies
Qualitative ad hoc measure to check the presence of negative effects of the therapies
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
The PHQ-9 is a 9-item questionnaire that assesses the presence and severity of depressive symptoms over the last two weeks. Each item is scored from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"), resulting in a total score ranging from 0 to 27. For this study, only item 9 will be used, which evaluates the presence of thoughts related to death or suicidal ideation/intent.
Time frame: Baseline
Socio-demographic and clinical questionnaire
Gender, date of birth, marital status, living arrangements, educational level, employment status, and years lived with fibromyalgia
Time frame: Baseline
Immune biomarkers
Serum levels of IL-4, IL-6, CXCL8, IL-10, IL-17A, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)
Time frame: Baseline and 3-months follow-up
Focus Group Discussions (FGD)
Participants' experience will be recorded during the focus group discussion, guided by the semi-structured questionnaire.
Time frame: 3-month post-intervention
Plan to share: No
Started Jan 2024 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Mar 2027, 38 months after the start.
Of 436 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Fibromyalgia, half reached primary completion within 16 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 31. This study's planned 38 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 449 studies reached it within 15 months; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 31.
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