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Mind-Body Medicine Research Group

Spiritual Engagement Project FAQs

What Is The Purpose Of This Study?

The purpose of this research study is to determine how different levels of involvement in a spiritual practices and teachings are related to well-being over a one-year period.

How Many People Will Participate?

Approximately 320 participants will take part in this study at the California Pacific Medical Center.

How Long Will I Be In This Study?

If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to complete several assessments over the course of 12 months.

What Will Happen To Me During This Study?

If you volunteer to participate in this study, we would ask you to do the following:

You will be asked to respond to online questionnaires about your level of engagement in a spiritual practice or community, and your physical health and general well-being at four times over the course of the study. These measures should take about 20-25 minutes to complete each time.

Three times during the year, you will be asked to phone in to a call center every evening for one week to answer a brief set of questions about how your day has gone. The questions should take about 5-7 minutes to answer each day.

You will be asked to provide the names and contact information for two people who will know how to contact you over the next year (even if you move) in case we lose touch with you.

You will be asked to provide the name and contact information for one
person with whom you have regular contact and whose opinion you trust. They will be asked a brief set of questions about you at the beginning and end of your participation in the study. Research shows that often people close to the subject in a research study can provide important additional information about that person, from their perspective. Before you give us the name of this person, you’ll be able to see the exact questions that we will be asking them.

What Are The Risks Of This Study?

The risks to participating in this study are loss of privacy and time. In addition, you may find the questionnaires boring or uncomfortable.

Your personal information will be kept separately from the answers you give on the questionnaires, and your personal information will not be kept on the internet. Your name will not be used in any published reports about this study.

How Confidential Are My Records?

We will keep your participation in this research study confidential to the extent permitted by law. This means that your personal information will not be linked to any of your study responses. All of your study responses will be coded by a Personal Identification Number (PIN). The only people who will have access to the document linking your PIN and your personal information are the study staff members. This information will be kept in a password protected document behind a firewall. However, we are required to inform you that agencies such as the funders of the study (Duke University) and the California Pacific Medical Center Institutional Review Board (a committee that reviews and approves research studies) may inspect and copy records pertaining to this research. Some of these records could contain information that personally identifies you. If we write a report or article about this study, we will describe the study results in a summarized manner so that you cannot be identified.

Is Being In This Study Voluntary?

Yes. If you decide to be in this study, you may stop participating at any time. You may also refuse to answer any questions you don’t want to answer and still remain in the study.

Will I Be Paid For Participating?

Yes. You will be compensated $100 at the end of the year, once you have completed all of the study assessments in a timely manner. If you choose to discontinue participation in the study and do not complete all study measurements, you will not be compensated.

Will It Cost Me Anything To Be In This Study?

Further Questions?

If you have any additional questions please contact: Nina Fry, Study Coordinator at 415-600-5772, or Sue Louiseau at 415-600-6516.

Should you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, you may call the Institutional Review Board which is concerned with protection of volunteers in research projects. They can be reached 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PST), Monday through Friday, at (415) 600-3688.

Contact Us

Study Email and Phone Number
Email: Wellness_Study@sutterhealth.org
(415) 600-6516

Staff Contact Information

Administrative Coordinator
Sue Louiseau
Email: Sue@cpmcri.org
(415) 600-6516

Clinical Research Coordinator
Nina Fry, MA
Email: FryN@cpmcri.org
(415) 600-5772

Principal Investigator
Cassandra Vieten, PhD
Email: VietenC@cpmcri.org
(415) 600-6574

Principal Investigator
John Astin, PhD
Email: John@integrativearts.com
(415) 600-1624

Research Intern
Peter Lewis, Doctoral Graduate Student
Email: LewisPH@cpmcri.org
(415) 600-3689

Research Intern
Mary Daly, MA
Email: DalyMX@cpmcri.org
(415) 600-3449

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