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Updated: May 14, 2025

A Community-based Stress Management Program: Using Wearable Devices to Assess Whole Body Physiological Responses in Non-laboratory Settings
Published on: January 22, 2018
Mobile health intervention CanRelax reduces distress in people with cancer in a randomized controlled trial
Jürgen Barth1, Sonja Schläpfer2, Fabian Schneider3
1Institute for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. mail@juergen-barth.de.
Abstract:
Mindfulness and relaxation exercises are effective face-to-face interventions for reducing distress in people with cancer. Their effectiveness in mobile health settings has yet to be investigated. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the CanRelax 2 app in reducing distress in people with cancer. German-speaking adults diagnosed with cancer within the last five years with elevated distress levels (Distress Thermometer ≥5) were recruited. Participants were randomized to the CanRelax 2 app or a waitlist control group. The primary endpoint was the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS) after 10 weeks (210 participants). We observed a clinically meaningful larger reduction in PHQ-ADS scores in the intervention group compared to the control group (-3.7, 95%-CI from -5.7 to -1.6; p = 0.0005). Similar effects were found for distress, well-being, and self-regulation. Our results confirm the effectiveness of a mobile health app in reducing distress in people with cancer. Registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00027546) on 23.02.2022.
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