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The effects of expressive writing on haemodialysis patients

A randomised controlled trial to assess the feasibility and efficacy of using an expressive writing intervention with patients on haemodialysis

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN19773253
Enrollment
50
Registered
2013-01-16
Start date
2013-01-03
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2020-08-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Depression associated with kidney disease Mental and Behavioural Disorders Depressive episode, unspecified

Interventions

Expressive Writing (EW) intervention vs. control. Participants and research team will be blind to condition assignment, apart from Chief Investigator (CI). Expressive

Sponsors

King's College London (UK)
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. To be included in the study, patients (>18 years of age, either sex) will need to be a renal patient currently undergoing haemodialysis treatment within one of the dialysis units of Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Trust. 2. To be included in the writing intervention patients will have met a cut-off score of 3 or more on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as part of the screening phase, indicating some level of distress.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Exclusion criteria (for both the screening and RCT phases) will include: 1. Patients under the age of 18 2. Those with significant visual or physical impairment preventing completion of the questionnaires 3. Inability to speak or write in English 4. Known cognitive impairment 5. Documented history of psychiatric illness including severe depression (identified as being under the care of a psychiatrist), and 6. Length of time on dialysis as <90 days Following screening, patients with a General Health Questionnaire score of less than 3 will not be eligible for the writing task.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Feasibility measured by: 1. Recording the number of patients who are eligible in the targeted clinics 2. The number willing to consent to screening and randomisation 3. The number eligible for randomisation 4. The number of drop-outs 5. The number who adhere to task instructions

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Data from a series of psychosocial questionnaire: 1. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) 2. Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) 3. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) 4. Pain Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 5. Chalder Fatigue Scale] At one week, after 3 months and finally after 6 months.

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026