Evaluation of an Algorithmically Enhanced Personalized Music-based Intervention on Stress Reduction in Cancer Patients

Summary

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is a life-altering event for patients and their families that not only carries serious physical health implications but also causes significant stress and emotional distress.

After initial diagnosis, restaging appointments can bring back additional fear, sadness, and anxiety. Music listening interventions can alleviate stress associated with cancer diagnosis by improving patients' ability to cope with the mental and emotional strain that accompanies their disease. Yet, current music listening interventions lack personalization and moment-to-moment adjustments that accompany traditional music therapy in the hands of a seasoned professional. Rubato Life™ (RL) application uses a proprietary algorithm for music selection that utilizes machine-learning and deep neural network to select music that reduces stress as measured by heart rate variability in real time, offering improved personalization of stress-reducing music. We hypothesize that using personalized musical playlists, through RL, will improve stress and anxiety outcomes for patients undergoing cancer restaging more than participant-selected music.

This 3-week longitudinal study will include 200 patients from St. Elizabeth's Medical Center who have scheduled appointments for cancer restaging. Participants will be randomized into one of two groups: a) an intervention group, in which patients will listen to music using Rubato Life app, and b) a control group, in which patients listen to music of their own choice that they believe to be stress reducing. Patients in both groups will be asked to listen to at least 45 minutes per day, for a period of 2 weeks coming up to their scheduled restaging appointment (or at least 12 total hours of listening), and for one hour immediately after the appointment. Patients in the Intervention group will wear smartwatches to monitor heart rate variability throughout the study. Patients will be asked to complete assessments of anxiety (STAI-S) prior to randomization, on the day of their restaging, and following one hour of post-restaging music listening.

Conditions

• Cancer
• Stress

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Rubato Life Music

Participants will listen to music using Rubato Life app at least 45 minutes per day, for a period of 2 weeks coming up to their scheduled restaging appointment (or at least 12 total hours of listening), and for one hour immediately after the appointment. Patients in the Intervention group will wear smartwatches to monitor heart rate variability throughout the study

BEHAVIORAL

Music of their desire

patients will be asked to listen to a minimum of 45 minutes per day of music (or a total of 12 hours), of their desire, which the participant considers as stress relief music for a period of a 2 weeks (or a total of 12 hours)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Rubato Life

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Claudius Conrad, MD,PhD,FACS · Saint Elizabeth's Medical Center

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-12-01

Primary Completion

2023-09-01

Completion

2024-09-01

Countries

• United States

Study Locations