An interventional study of Poetry and Poetry Manual in Dyspepsia, Gastroparesis and Anxiety, sponsored by Ohio State University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-21.
Sponsored by Ohio State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
This study examines whether participating in poetry workshops can improve emotional well-being among patients with chronic digestive symptoms. Many individuals with long-standing digestive conditions experience distress, anxiety, isolation, and difficulty expressing their emotions in clinical settings. These emotional challenges can negatively affect daily life, relationships, and overall health.
Poetry writing offers a creative and supportive way for participants to explore their feelings, express their experiences, and build emotional resilience. It also allows individuals to focus on aspects of their identity beyond their illness.
The purpose of this research is to evaluate whether poetry workshops can reduce anxiety, lessen feelings of isolation, and strengthen participants' sense of community and well being.
1. Why is this study being done?
The purpose of this research study is to offer a creative outlet for patients to explore their identity and story, build resilience, and seek hope. This study is being done because we understand that the psychological discomfort that can come upon hearing a diagnosis can lead to increased anxiety levels, negatively impacting a patient's well-being and relationships. Often healthcare practitioners may merely view a patient through the lens of their diagnosis, neglecting other aspects of their identity and humanity. Through reading various poems, crafting their own poems, and sharing their work with their peers, we hope the workshops offer a comforting opportunity for the participants to explore their identities and creativity.
Upon hearing a diagnosis, patients can feel overwhelmed and apprehensive as they experience a loss of control over their current state of health. This psychological discomfort combined with often life-threatening symptoms can result in increased anxiety levels in patients. While patient anxiety levels remain a critical issue for investigation, patients diagnosed with illnesses such as cancer often experience a lack of attention from providers towards their psychological wellbeing (Rickett et al. 2011). As a result, patients can feel consumed by their emotions and find difficulty in navigating the psychological complexities of a diagnosis.
The arts, especially poetry, can provide a powerful vessel through which patients can authentically and vulnerably communicate the myriad of emotions they experience. While poetry may not alter the reality of a diagnosis, it can help shift the patient's attitude from one of fear to one of hope. In addition, the active practice of writing poetry can present an opportunity for patients to regain a sense of control and recognize how their identity is more than their diagnosis.
Moreover, patients are rarely asked "What does this all mean to you?" when they are diagnosed with an illness (Rickett et al. 2011). Poetry workshops can serve as a "transformational space" where patients can reflect on their illness journey and seek meaning in their experiences (Rickett et al. 2011). In addition, poetry workshops can offer opportunities for community building and engagement which "is rare within the highly clinical treatment environment" (Tegner et al. 2009). By sharing poems with one another, patients can seek unity in their experiences and lend support to one another, leading to reductions in isolation. It has been reported that poetry can enhance skills such as listening, attentiveness, and observation which are all critical for relationship building (Barrett et al. 2020).
Previous studies have assessed the effects of poetry workshops on patients with serious illnesses; however, the need for more information surrounding this interdisciplinary approach remains pertinent. One study found that poetry therapy interventions improved both emotional resilience and anxiety in cancer patients (Tegner et. al 2009). In another study, poetry intervention was reported to have led to significant decreases in sadness, worry, and fatigue in hospitalized pediatric patients (Delamerced 2021).
This study aims to take both a qualitative and quantitative approach to understanding how poetry workshops can foster community, lessen anxiety, and enhance emotional well-being among patients diagnosed with at least moderate dyspepsia and moderate anxiety or depression
372 studies on the registry are indexed under Dyspepsia; 67 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 80 is below the median of 89 across 302 interventional studies indexed under Dyspepsia.
Browse Dyspepsia studies →Ohio State University is the lead sponsor of 663 studies on the registry; 148 are open to participants now.
Of its 67 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 49 (73%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
At least 18 years old
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.
Participants selected for the facilitated poetry workshop will meet once a week for approximately 1.5 hours via Zoom. Before each workshop, participants will complete a survey evaluating their general emotional state. Each session will begin with a 10-minute warm-up relating to the workshop's theme to ease the participants into the workshop and to cultivate a comfortable environment for the participants to discuss with one another. The warmup will be followed by the facilitator reading a poem and a discussion of the poem. This discussion will pertain to the participants' initial thoughts and emotions upon hearing the poem. Afterwards, participants will have the opportunity to craft their own poem and share their art with their fellow participants. The workshop will close with a final reading of the poem by one of the participants. At the end of each workshop, patients will complete a survey evaluating their emotional state,
Behavioral: Poetry
Participants will be provided with a manual with the selected poems, reflection questions, and writing prompts. In accordance with the 8-week schedule followed by the facilitated poetry workshops, participants in the control group will partake in each of the 8 workshops and complete the surveys outside of the scheduled virtual group sessions. The last workshop will be conducted in an interview-style format. After every two workshops, a member of the research team will call each participant to check in on their progress.
Behavioral: Poetry Manual
participants will have the opportunity to craft their own poem and share their art with their fellow participants. This will be facilitated by one of the research team members who will help them craft their own poem.
Participants will receive a written manual that will guide them on how to write poetry. they will receive one manual each week.
Change in Anxiety and Depression Symptoms
Assessed using the HADS questionnaire
Time frame: Between baseline and 8 weeks after start of poetry sessions
Change in Dyspepsia Symptoms
This will be assessed using electronic questionnaire that asks them to rate dyspepsia symptoms on a scale from None- Very severe
Time frame: Assessed from Baseline to end of poetry sessions (8 weeks)
Plan to share: No — Due to privacy concerns, we cannot share IPD
Start is estimated for Jul 2026; primary completion for Jul 2028, 23 months later.
Of 71 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Dyspepsia, half reached primary completion within 18 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 28. This study's planned 23 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 79 studies reached it within 17 months; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 28.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
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