Embrace grew out of a simple question: what happens when the people who
love someone can show up for them all at once? Here is who helps us
study that question, and what the published evidence does and doesn’t
say.
Limits of the evidence
None of these studies directly tests the complete Embrace product.
They describe why social connection matters and how support can be
measured. Embrace supports connection; it isn’t medical care, therapy,
or a substitute for either, and we don’t claim it improves recovery or
survival.
Duke Bass Connections
Embrace is housed as a Duke Bass Connections research initiative in
the lab of Dr. Nandan Lad, Professor and Vice Chair of Innovation in
Duke Neurosurgery. Student and faculty teams study how short-form
storytelling can help people gather emotional support during
diagnoses, surgery, and other hard transitions.
Research is ongoing. These project pages describe co-design work and
early findings; they do not report completed controlled trials of
Embrace.
Scientific advisors
Our advisors bring expertise in communication during serious
illness, perceived social support, coping in close relationships,
and clinical translation. Affiliations identify each advisor and
don’t imply institutional endorsement.
Paul Duberstein, PhD
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Professor, Rutgers School of Public Health
Paul Duberstein, PhD, is a public health psychologist and Senior Associate Dean for Research and Professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health. His work examines how communication, social relationships, mental health, and health-care systems shape experiences of aging, cancer, caregiving, palliative care, and serious illness. He previously held appointments in psychiatry, family medicine, and medicine at the University of Rochester. His research includes the VOICE randomized trial, which improved patient-centered communication in advanced cancer, and a cancer meta-analysis linking stronger social networks with better survival. For Embrace, Dr. Duberstein brings rigorous expertise in the moments when families and clinicians must communicate under stress, along with a clear view of how supportive connection can be studied without overstating what the evidence proves.
Patient- and family-centered communication during serious illness
Cancer, caregiving, aging, palliative care, and end-of-life research
Outcome measurement and responsible interpretation of support science
Clinical Psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine
Gregory D. Zimet, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine. He founded the Center for HPV Research and built a behavioral science program focused on vaccine confidence, health communication, and decisions made under uncertainty. Earlier in his career, Dr. Zimet co-developed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, or MSPSS, a widely used measure that distinguishes support from family, friends, and a significant other. That framework closely matches Embrace's ability to make an entire circle of care visible. His communication research also adds a practical lens on message framing, trust, and engagement. For Embrace, Dr. Zimet offers both a foundational way to measure perceived support and decades of insight into how carefully designed messages can influence health-related attitudes and behavior.
Perceived social support from family, friends, and significant others
Message framing, trust, and behavior under uncertainty
Validated measurement for future product evaluation
Associate Professor and Head of the INSIDE Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark
Nina Rottmann, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of Southern Denmark, a licensed psychologist, and head of the INSIDE research group. Her work asks how people adapt to life-threatening or chronic illness and how families, partners, and care systems can support that adjustment. Drawing on clinical experience in health and rehabilitation psychology, she studies the psychosocial and existential dimensions of cancer, heart disease, and other major health challenges. A central focus is dyadic coping, the way two people respond to illness together, along with close relationships and personal meaning. Her longitudinal research with couples facing breast cancer linked shared coping with stronger relationship quality and fewer depressive symptoms. For Embrace, Dr. Rottmann brings a nuanced understanding of support as a relationship process and of how connection can help patients and loved ones navigate uncertainty together.
Dyadic coping and close relationships during illness
Meaning, identity, and existential concerns in rehabilitation
Support needs of both patients and the people who care for them
Professor and Vice Chair of Innovation, Duke Neurosurgery
Nandan Lad, MD, PhD, is a neurosurgeon, scientist, entrepreneur, and Professor and Vice Chair of Innovation in Duke Neurosurgery. He directs the Functional and Restorative Neuromodulation Program and Duke NeuroInnovations, where clinical needs are translated into new devices, digital tools, and care models. His research spans neuromodulation, neurorestoration, clinical trials, data science, and patient-centered outcomes. His lab houses Embrace as a Duke Bass Connections research initiative exploring how short-form storytelling and digital platforms can support people and families facing diagnoses, surgery, grief, and end-of-life transitions. For Embrace, Dr. Lad connects human-centered design with clinical reality, helping the team build around the emotional cadence of treatment while maintaining the privacy, evidence, and workflow discipline expected of health technology.
Clinical translation and human-centered health technology
Patient-centered outcomes, surgery, chronic pain, and recovery
Innovation pathways, safety, privacy, and health-system relevance
Each summary notes what the study found, what it suggests for
Embrace, and why it should be read with care.
01 · Foundational mechanism · Meta-analysis
Social relationships and mortality risk
Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. PLoS Medicine. 2010;7(7):e1000316.
Key finding
Across 148 studies and 308,849 participants, stronger social relationships were associated with 50% greater odds of survival. Measures that captured multiple dimensions of social integration showed the strongest association.
What this informs
Supports the core premise that meaningful social connection is health-relevant. It also favors experiences that make a network of support tangible rather than counting contacts alone.
Interpret with care
This is an observational meta-analysis. It does not show that Embrace, or any single support intervention, improves survival.
02 · Cancer-specific mechanism · Meta-analysis
Associations of social networks with cancer mortality
Pinquart M, Duberstein PR. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology. 2010;75(2):122-137.
Key finding
Across 87 studies, higher perceived social support, larger social networks, and marriage were associated with lower cancer mortality risk. The relative reductions reported were 25%, 20%, and 12%, respectively.
What this informs
Shows that perceived support, not only the existence of other people, is a meaningful target. For Embrace, this points to the importance of recipients feeling seen, remembered, and held by their circle of care.
Interpret with care
The findings are associations and varied by cancer type and study design. They do not establish survival or recovery benefits from Embrace.
03 · Relationship mechanism · Longitudinal study
Dyadic coping within couples dealing with breast cancer
Rottmann N, Hansen DG, Larsen PV, et al. Health Psychology. 2015;34(5):486-495.
Key finding
In 538 patient-partner couples, greater common dyadic coping was associated with better relationship quality and fewer depressive symptoms for both partners. Negative dyadic coping was associated with poorer outcomes.
What this informs
This frames support as a shared process, with authentic, collaborative messages that do not place emotional management entirely on the patient.
Interpret with care
The sample involved women with breast cancer and male partners, so the findings should not be generalized to every relationship or diagnosis without care.
The study established a reliable 12-item measure of perceived support across three sources: family, friends, and a significant other. Higher perceived support was associated with lower depression and anxiety symptoms.
What this informs
Provides a credible evaluation framework for pilots. A short, licensed or appropriately permitted support measure could test whether the experience changes perceived support over time.
Interpret with care
This study validated a measure in university students. It did not test a health intervention or the clinical effect of video messages.
Among 38 oncologists and 265 patients, with 194 participating caregivers, combined clinician training and patient coaching produced a significant improvement in patient-centered communication.
What this informs
Guided prompts and preparation can improve high-stakes communication. Embrace can reduce the blank-page problem by helping contributors express care clearly and respond to emotion.
Interpret with care
Secondary outcomes, including quality of life and health-care use, did not significantly improve. The intervention involved trained clinicians and coaching, not a montage alone.
06 · Digital storytelling · Randomized controlled trial
Digital storytelling after lung cancer surgery
Zhu J, Chen SH, Guo JY, et al. European Journal of Oncology Nursing. 2024;69:102535.
Key finding
Ninety postoperative patients with non-small cell lung cancer were randomized to routine care or four digital stories. The storytelling group showed greater improvements in resilience, self-efficacy, and quality of life through three-month follow-up.
What this informs
This is one of the closest intervention studies to Embrace's medium. It supports short, structured video stories as a plausible psychosocial format during cancer recovery.
Interpret with care
The videos featured survivor experiences and were not personalized messages from the recipient's own network. Longer-term and broader-population evidence is still needed.
07 · Family video message · Randomized controlled trial
Simulated family presence for hospitalized patients with delirium
Waszynski CM, Milner KA, Staff I, Molony SL. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 2018;77:154-161.
Key finding
In a three-group trial, a one-minute family video produced a reduction in agitation during viewing for 94% of participants, compared with 70% for a nature video and 30% with usual care. Immediate post-viewing effects were more limited.
What this informs
Offers direct evidence that a familiar, prerecorded family presence can have an immediate emotional effect in a stressful care setting. Timing and replayability are important design features.
Interpret with care
The population was older hospitalized patients with delirium, the study was single-site, and the effect was not consistently sustained after viewing.
Among 326 patients who completed the trial, dignity therapy did not improve the primary distress measures. On secondary self-report outcomes, participants more often described it as helpful and as improving quality of life, dignity, and family appreciation.
What this informs
Supports structured reflection and a lasting record as meaningful parts of end-of-life support. Embrace can preserve messages and memories while centering participant choice and control.
Interpret with care
Dignity therapy is a trained, clinician-led psychotherapy. Embrace is not a substitute for dignity therapy and has not been shown to produce the same therapeutic effects.
