An interventional study of Interoceptive-Based Group Intervention in Interoception and Congenital Heart Disease, sponsored by University of Glasgow. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-13.
Sponsored by University of Glasgow · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
Adults living with congenital heart disease (CHD) commonly experience physical symptoms alongside emotional and social challenges, which can affect wellbeing and health-related quality of life. Access to psychological services varies, and evidence to guide the development and delivery of psychological interventions for this population is still emerging.
Interoceptive-based approaches focus on increasing awareness of and responding adaptively to internal bodily sensations, such as breathing, heart rate and fatigue. These approaches have shown benefits in other long-term health conditions but have not yet been studied in adults with CHD. This study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a newly adapted online, skills-based group programme for adults with CHD.
Thirty-two participants will be recruited through the Scottish Adult Congenital Cardiac Service and randomly allocated to one of two cohorts: Cohort 1 (Immediate Intervention) and Cohort 2 (Delayed/Waitlist Intervention). The group programme will consist of eight online sessions delivered by a Principal Clinical Psychologist and a Trainee Clinical Psychologist. Weekly sessions will explore the relationship between interoception and key areas relevant to living with CHD, including emotions, behaviours, and physical symptoms. Group discussions and exercises will focus on increasing awareness and understanding of internal bodily sensations, developing strategies for responding to interoceptive cues and using bodily information to guide behaviours and everyday activities.
Participants will complete online questionnaires before and after the intervention assessing interoception, anxiety, depression and health-related quality of life. Participants will also provide feedback regarding the acceptability and perceived usefulness of the programme. Participation is voluntary, and participants may withdraw at any time without affecting their clinical care. Appropriate emotional support will be available should participants experience distress related to the group materials or discussions.
Findings from this feasibility randomised controlled trial will inform further refinement of the group programme, assess the acceptability and feasibility of study procedures, provide estimates of recruitment, retention and outcome variability, and support the design and sample size calculation of a future definitive trial. The findings may also contribute to the enhancement of psychological support for adults with CHD and be disseminated through scientific publications and conference presentations.
991 studies on the registry are indexed under Heart Defects, Congenital; 251 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 32 is below the median of 60 across 507 interventional studies indexed under Heart Defects, Congenital.
Browse Heart Defects, Congenital studies →University of Glasgow is the lead sponsor of 145 studies on the registry; 21 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:
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.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
An 8-week online group intervention where participants will learn skills to improve interoception and connect with their body.
Other: Interoceptive-Based Group Intervention
Participants will wait until Cohort 1 (Immediate Intervention) have completed the intervention before commencing themselves
An 8-week online group intervention aiming to improve interoception.
Also known as: Group IBI
Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA-2)
The MAIA-2 is a 32-item self-report scale measuring eight concepts related to interoception: (1) attention regulation, (2) emotional awareness, (3) noticing, (4) self-regulation, (5) not-worrying, (6) not-distracting, (7) body listening and (8) trusting. Items are answered on a six-point Likert scale ranging from 0 = Never to 5 = Always. Each subscale is interpreted independently to reflect different aspects of interoceptive awareness, including in populations with long-term health conditions.
Time frame: Baseline (up to 4 weeks prior to intervention starting) and 8 weeks (during last intervention session)
Feasibility and Acceptability Questionnaire
This questionnaire will assess accessibility, delivery, group format/content, perceived usefulness of exercises and potential impact on anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life or interoception, using a five-point Likert scale (from 1= strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Participants will indicate if they would recommend the intervention and provide qualitative feedback.
Time frame: At 8 weeks (during last intervention session)
The Generalised Anxiety Disorders Scale (GAD-7)
The GAD-7 is a 7-item self-report scale assessing the frequency and presence of anxiety symptoms over the past two weeks. Items are rated on a four-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 = Not at all to 3 = Nearly every day. Total scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety symptoms. It is widely validated in primary care and chronic health settings.
Time frame: Baseline (up to 4 weeks prior to intervention starting) and 8 weeks (during last intervention session)
Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9)
The PHQ-9 is a 9-item self-report scale assessing the frequency and presence of depressive symptoms over the past two weeks. Items are rated on a four-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 = Not at all to 3 = Nearly every day. Total scores range from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms. It is widely validated in primary care and chronic health settings.
Time frame: Baseline (up to 4 weeks prior to intervention starting) and 8 weeks (during last intervention session)
Short Form Health Survey (SF-12)
The SF-12 is a 12-item HRQoL self-report scale producing Physical and Mental Component Summary scores from eight domains: (1) physical functioning, (2) physical role limitations, (3) emotional role limitations, (4) bodily pain, (5) general health, (6) vitality, (7) social functioning and (8) mental health. Scores range from 0 to 100; higher total scores indicate better health. The SF-12 has been validated in cardiac populations as an alternative to its longer 36-item version.
Time frame: Baseline (up to 4 weeks prior to intervention starting) and 8 weeks (during last intervention session)
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: Undecided
Start is estimated for Jul 2026; primary completion for Dec 2026, 5 months later.
Of 205 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Heart Defects, Congenital, half reached primary completion within 35 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 17 and three quarters within 53. This study's planned 5 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 223 studies reached it within 34 months; a quarter within 17 and three quarters within 57.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in May 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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