# Self-administered hypnosis treatment for the management of hot flashes in women: A randomized clinical trial

> **NIH NIH R01** · BAYLOR UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $336,872

## Abstract

Abstract
Hot flashes negatively impact 80% or more of the female population experiencing menopause due to aging
and/or diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer, causing decreases in both emotional and physical role
functioning. The most effective treatment for hot flashes, estrogen based treatment, is either contraindicated or
a cause for worry amongst many women due to cancer and serious side effect risks. Some non-estrogen
based treatments have been found effective, but they also can have a negative risk-benefit ratio. Effective,
non-hormonal treatments for hot flashes that are not associated with unwanted side effects and are accessible
to all women are needed. Hypnotic relaxation therapy is a mind-body intervention that has demonstrated the
ability to reduce hot flashes in women experiencing menopause from natural aging as well as breast cancer
treatment and has recently been added to a clinical guideline for hot flash management by the North American
Menopause Society. However, access to this effective treatment is limited by a lack of trained and/or certified
licensed providers. According to an IOM report on women’s health, efforts are needed to be able to translate
effective guideline based treatments broadly into practice. This study represents the next step to meet that
critical objective. This application proposes a multi-site, two arm, randomized controlled trial with 224
postmenopausal women to accomplish the following specific aims: 1) Evaluate efficacy of a fully self-
administered hypnosis compared to an equivalently structured attention control group; 2) Evaluate efficacy of
the self-administered hypnosis compared to structured attention for sleep, mood, and hot flash related quality
of life, and 3) Explore potential mechanisms by assessing mediators and moderators of effectiveness. This
research has the potential to be the gateway to the broad dissemination of a powerful intervention against hot
flashes and to illuminate mechanisms of action upon which to build further interventions. This study is
innovative because it seeks to deliver a provider intensive therapy in a fully self-administered way, and to
explore mechanisms by which it reduces hot flashes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10376502
- **Project number:** 3R01AT009384-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** DEBRA L. BARTON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $336,872
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-09-22 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10376502

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10376502, Self-administered hypnosis treatment for the management of hot flashes in women: A randomized clinical trial (3R01AT009384-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10376502. Licensed CC0.

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