Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40063947›Full record

Trial reportJMIR formative research2025

Development of a Voice-Activated Virtual Assistant to Improve Insomnia Among Young Adult Cancer Survivors: Mixed Methods Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

Hunter Groninger, Hannah Arem, Lylian Ayangma, Lisa Gong, Eric Zhou, Daniel Greenberg

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in JMIR formative research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05875129 (Intervention for Chronic Insufficient Sleep in Young Adult Cancer Survivors), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05875129 nacompletednot on this map

Intervention for Chronic Insufficient Sleep in Young Adult Cancer Survivors

TypeinterventionalSponsorMedstar Health Research InstituteRan2022 to 2023Enrolled15ConditionsCancer, Insomnia ChronicArmsVAVA prototype
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Hunter GroningerMedStar Health Research Institute, Washington, DC, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-7416-1999
Hannah AremGeorgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5734-0810
Lylian AyangmaGeorgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.ORCID 0009-0009-3725-5334
Lisa GongGeorgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-2485-5594
Eric ZhouDana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-1038-8961
Daniel GreenbergMediaRez LLC, Washington, DC, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-8637-2731

Funding

Intervention for Chronic Insufficient Sleep in Young Adult Cancer SurvivorsR43CA254637 · NCI · MEDIA REZ, LLC · PI GREENBERG, DANIEL J, GRONINGER, J. HUNTER · 2020 to 2020
$400k
NCI NIH HHS R43 CA254637
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUp to 75% of young adult cancer survivors (YACS) experience chronic insomnia, negatively affecting physical and emotional health and overall quality of life. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is a gold-standard intervention to address insomnia. To improve CBT-I access and treatment adherence, screen-based digital CBT-I platforms have been developed. However, even with these digital products, widespread uptake of CBT-I remains limited, and new strategies for CBT-I delivery are warranted.

objectiveThe objective of this study is to understand how YACS experience insomnia and how they might incorporate technology-delivered CBT-I into a daily routine and test the feasibility and acceptability of a novel screen-free voice-activated virtual assistant-delivered CBT-I prototype.

methodsEligible participants-ages 18-39, living with a history of cancer (any type, any stage), self-reporting on average less sleep than National Sleep Foundation recommendations, and English-speaking-were recruited from a major urban cancer center, 2 regional oncology clinics, and 2 cancer survivorship support groups. We conducted 4 focus groups to understand the YACS experience of insomnia, their routine use of technology at home, particularly voice-activated virtual assistants such as Amazon Alexa, and input on how CBT-I might be delivered at home through a smart speaker system. We developed a prototype device to deliver key elements of CBT-I at home along with circadian lighting and monitoring of post-bedtime device use, collected YACS user perspectives on this prototype, and then conducted a single-arm feasibility and acceptability study.

resultsIn total, 26 YACS (6-7 participants per group) experiencing insomnia participated in focus groups to share experiences of insomnia during cancer survivorship and to provide input regarding a CBT-I prototype. Common triggers of insomnia included worry about disease management and progression, disease-related pain and other symptoms, choices regarding personal device use, and worry about the impact of poor sleep on daily functioning. In total, 12 participants completed device prototype testing, engaging with the prototype 94% of the assigned times (twice daily for 14 days; meeting predetermined feasibility cutoff of engagement ≥70% of assigned times) and rating the prototype with an overall mean score of 5.43 on the Satisfaction subscale of the Usability, Satisfaction, and Ease of Use scale (range 4.42-7; exceeding the predetermined cutoff score for acceptability of 5.0). All participants completing the study reported they would be interested in using the prototype again and would recommend it to someone else with insomnia.

conclusionsYACS were highly engaged with our voice-activated virtual assistant-delivered CBT-I prototype and found it acceptable to use. Following final device development, future studies should evaluate the efficacy of this intervention among YACS.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05875129; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05875129.

Indexed as

Cancer SurvivorsCognitive Behavioral TherapySleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersAdolescentAdultFeasibility StudiesFemaleFocus GroupsHumansMalePatient Acceptance of Health CareQuality of LifeYoung Adultappartificial intelligencecancerCBTcognitive behavioral therapyfocus groupinsomniamHealthmobile healthoncologyqualitative researchsleepsurvivortechnologyvirtual assistantsvoice-activated virtual assistantyoung adults

Identifiers

PMID40063947
PMCPMC11933750

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.