Skip to content
Bored Studies
RecruitingAccepts healthy volunteers

Breaking Silence Through Story: A Narrative Medicine Intervention for Parents of Children With Urogenital Conditions

Sarah Schlegel · with Harvard Catalyst Pilot Grant · NCT06989593

View Study & Apply (opens in a new tab)

Opens the official ClinicalTrials.gov record, with the study team’s contacts. Bored Studies doesn’t enroll anyone.

Key facts

Compensation
Not posted. Ask the study team before screening.
Who can join
Ages 18+ · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Interventional · Not applicable
Target enrollment
20
US sites recruiting
1
Study start
October 10, 2025
Record last updated
May 18, 2026

Status re-checked against ClinicalTrials.gov within the last 12 hours.

What the study is about

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a journaling intervention can reduce stress and anxiety in parents of children with urogenital conditions (such as differences of sex development and hypospadias).

The main questions it aims to answer are

  • Does guided journaling help to reduce anxiety levels in parents of children with urogenital conditions?
  • What are parents' perspectives on group-based writing interventions for future support programs?

Participants will

  • Complete a short anxiety questionnaire (the General Anxiety Disorder-7 scale) at the beginning of the study
  • Receive a physical journal with 5 writing prompts designed to help process emotions related to their child's condition
  • Complete 5 journal entries over several weeks, writing about their experiences and feelings
  • Complete the same anxiety questionnaire again after finishing the journal entries
  • Participate in a 45-minute interview to discuss how the journaling affected their stress levels and gather feedback on potential group-based writing programs

Being studied: Narrative Medicine Journaling Intervention

Conditions: DSD; Hypospadias

Eligibility criteria

Copied from the official record. The study team makes the final decision at screening.

Show full criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Parent or legal guardian of a child (age 0-17 years) diagnosed with a urogenital condition (such as differences of sex development or hypospadias)
  • Able to read and understand English
  • Willing to complete a guided journaling intervention (through writing or dictation) over a period of approximately 5 weeks
  • Willing to participate in a 45 minute follow-up interview
  • Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

  • Parent/guardian with severe psychiatric disorder that would interfere with participation as determined by referring physician
  • Parent/guardian unable to complete either written journaling activities or dictation
  • Inability to provide informed consent

Recruiting US locations

  • Boston Children's Hospital

    Boston, MA 02115

    Site contact: Sarah Schlegel, MD, MS

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Alex Wheelock · 617-919-7031 · Journaling@childrens.harvard.edu
  • Sarah Schlegel, MD, MS · 617-355-3523
All mental health studies in Massachusetts →
Breaking Silence Through Story: A Narrative Medicine Intervention… (NCT06989593) | Bored Studies