Can a smartphone app ease sickle cell pain and help you sleep?
NCT ID NCT07402811
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This study tests whether a smartphone-based mindfulness program is practical and liked by teens and young adults (ages 15-39) with sickle cell disease who have chronic pain or sleep problems. Participants use a guided meditation app for about 8 weeks. The goal is to see if people stick with it and find it helpful, not yet to prove it works.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- mindfulness-based mobile intervention (smartphone app with guided meditation and exercises)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, drug-free way to help young people with sickle cell disease cope with chronic pain and sleep issues at home.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early feasibility study with only 20 participants. It is not designed to prove the intervention works, only whether people will use it and find it acceptable.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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25 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Finished
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May 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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15 to 39 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Individuals aged 15-39 years * Have been diagnosed with SCD * Are able to speak and understand English * Are able to complete questionnaires with minimal or no assistance from a caregiver * Report pain and/or sleep problems as assessed by the Adult Sickle Cell Quality of Life Measurement Information System (ASCQ-Me) short forms * Have access to the internet on a smartphone, tablet, or computer Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals who have significant cognitive limitations that will impair their ability to use and understand the MBI, as per their health care provider or caregiver * Are currently receiving an MBI or have received more than 4 sessions of any MBI in the 6 months prior to the screening
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60612, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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