Recruiting

Poetry Workshops

Sponsor:

Ohio State University

Code:

NCT07717541

Conditions

Dyspepsia

Gastroparesis

Anxiety

Depression

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Poetry

Poetry Manual

Study Details

Brief summary:

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.

Conditions

Dyspepsia

Gastroparesis

Anxiety

Depression

Study ID

NCT07717541

Start date

Jul 17, 2026

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jul 16, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • • At least 18 years old

  • Ability to provide informed consent
  • Able to speak and understand English
  • Able to attend virtual poetry workshops
  • Willing to share at least 3 poems at the end of the study with the study team
  • Have access to a high-speed internet connection and smart phone or computer
  • Willing to participate in group activity if randomized to the facilitated workshops
  • At least moderate dyspepsia assessed by the Dyspepsia questionnaire (at least one of the following symptoms with moderate or worse severity- nausea, vomiting, early satiety, post prandial fullness AND
  • At least moderate anxiety or depression assessed by HADS questionnaire. The HADS score has 2 subscores- HADS-A for anxiety and HADS-D for depression. A score of ≥ 21 indicates moderate anxiety and will be required to be eligible for the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to speak English or participate in virtual sessions
  • Younger than 18 years old

Study Design

Enrollment

80 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Experimental group

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,

active comparator: Control Group

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.

Interventions

Poetry

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.

Poetry Manual

Participants will receive a written manual that will guide them on how to write poetry. they will receive one manual each week.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in Anxiety and Depression Symptoms [ Time Frame: Between baseline and 8 weeks after start of poetry sessions ]
  • Change in Dyspepsia Symptoms [ Time Frame: Assessed from Baseline to end of poetry sessions (8 weeks) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

SUBHANKAR CHAKRABORTY, M.D., Ph.D.

614-293-6255'Subhankar.chakraborty@osumc.edu

Locations

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Recruiting

Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210

Contacts

Subhankar Chakraborty, MD, Ph.D.

614-293-6255'subhankar.chakraborty@osumc.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Ohio State University

Last update posted

Jul 21, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • poetry
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • dyspepsia
  • gastroparesis
  • virtual
  • creativity

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-11. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Ohio State University on 2026-07-21. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.