Stress clinical trials at UCLA

The goal of this study is to learn about the relationship between blood sugar, diet, stress, and metabolic parameters including waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol levels and blood pressure in patients at risk for diabetes. The main questions it aims to answer are 1) are there trends in blood sugar responses after meals for patients at risk of developing diabetes? And 2) are there correlations between stress and fluctuations in blood sugar? During the first visit, participant's waist circumference, body composition, cholesterol, and resting blood pressure will be measured, and a continuous glucose monitor sensor will be placed on the participant's non-dominant arm. This sensor will be worn for seven days, and the participant will be asked to complete a daily food log during that time. Each participant will be asked to return to clinic after one week to return the continuous glucose monitor and daily food log.

The goal of this randomized control trial is to learn if professional coaching can help reduce physician burnout among physicians at UCLA. The main aims of the study are: - To reduce burnout among physicians with professional coaching - Improve work satisfaction and engagement, sense of self-efficacy and social support with professional coaching - Determine the efficacy of one-on-one professional coaching and small group professional coaching combined with behavioral interventions/activities in reducing physician burnout and comparing these groups to one another and to a delayed-entry (control) group Participants will be randomly assigned into one of three groups: - Intervention Group 1: One-on-one coaching (N=30). Six one-on-one coaching sessions via Zoom with one of two private professional coaches every other week for 3-4 months. - Intervention Group 2: Coach-facilitated group sessions and coach-guided activities/behavioral interventions (N=30). Six small-group coaching sessions via Zoom with one of two private professional coaches and three physician participants in each group, every other week for 3-4 months. - Delayed-Entry Group 3 (N=30): No intervention during duration of study period. Note: once participation in the pilot study has been completed for Groups 1 and 2, physicians participating in Group 3 will be offered to participate in six one-on-one sessions with a private professional coach over a 3-4 month period. Participants will complete several surveys that assess for burnout, work engagement and satisfaction, sense of social support and isolation, and areas of worklife) before the start, upon completion of the intervention and again at 6 months upon completion of the sessions for the delayed-entry group. Each group also received coach-guided activities/behavioral interventions during coaching sessions. These activities will be sent by coaches to participates throughout the 3 month period and include, but are not limited to: Wheel of Life, visioning exercise, one page miracle: core values, purpose, and goals, buckets and mental models.

Goal 1: The investigators will quantify lifetime stress burden and examine mechanisms linking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and health. The investigators will quantify the early life and total lifetime stress burden of a representative sample of about 725 adults (aged 18+) across northern and southern California. In addition, the investigators will examine how prior life stress exposure and current stress levels are associated with differences in psychosocial, immune, metabolic, physiologic, and clinical outcomes for all participants at baseline. Goal 2: The investigators will develop and test a biopsychosocial intervention using existing programs, platforms, resources, and core components from trauma and resilience research that will target five stress-related domains (i.e., cognitive response style, social relationships, eating, sleep, and physical activity) using cognitive restructuring and mindfulness, interpersonal skills training, mindful eating training, sleep training, and behavioral activation/mobility training. The investigators will then assess the efficacy and acceptability of the intervention in about 425 high stress exposure participants from Goal 1. Following their baseline assessment, about 425 participants will be randomly assigned to receive for 12 weeks (a) personalized intervention, (b) environmental education (active control) or (c) nothing (non-active control). The investigators will also assess the efficacy of the personalized intervention by comparing changes in outcomes by condition from baseline (prior to randomization) to immediately after the intervention, and then again after 12 weeks following intervention completion. The interventions will be entirely online/remote.

This is an exploratory study investigating the use of virtual reality-based guided mindfulness meditation in improving pain, stress, and mood within various clinical populations. The feasibility of utilizing VR applications within the populations of patients with various specific disease types and clinical settings is a burgeoning area of research. The goal is to establish an association between the use of VR-based mindfulness meditation, and pain, stress, and mood scores.