Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Combat (VRET)

February 15, 2018 updated by: Sara Freedman, Bar-Ilan University, Israel

Virtual Reality Treatment for Combat Related PTSD: Is Virtual Azza More Effective Than Traditional Exposure Treatment?

This non inferiority trial will compare Prolonged Exposure with Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy in adult patients with combat related PTSD.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects a significant number of combat soldiers, with some studies suggesting 20% have PTSD. PTSD is related to a number of other detrimental effects, on the individual, such as mood disorders and alcohol abuse, on family members, and on society at large. Although effective treatments for PTSD exist, primarily types of cognitive behavior therapy, their uptake is very low. Studies have shown that a variety of factors act as barriers to care. These include not having the time for therapy, no therapy being locally available, and general stigma about therapy. In military populations, this stigma includes worries about the attitudes of unit members and commanding officers. As a result, many combat veterans do not seek therapy. Recently, it has been suggested that providing therapy in non-conventional settings might overcome some of these barriers. Studies over the last decade have shown that using Virtual Reality is a potential option. Virtual reality is a computer based environment that allows the therapist complete control over its multimedia components. VR is easily adaptable to exposure based treatments, where patients gradually come into contact with feared situations. VR for PTSD following combat, terror and motor vehicle accidents have all shown to be effective treatments. The studies so far are few, involve a small number of patients, and have often not adhered to gold standards of controlled trials. In addition, VR for combat in Israel has never been developed or tested.

The current study is a randomized controlled trial, that will compare traditional face-to-face treatment with Virtual Reality, for combat related PTSD. Blind assessors will examine levels of PTSD and other disorders before treatment, immediately after treatment, and at 6 month follow up.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Israel
      • Ramat Gan, Israel, 52900
        • Recruiting
        • Bar Ilan University
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • combat related PTSD; Hebrew first language

Exclusion Criteria:

  • suicidality, other psychiatric diagnosis requiring treatment, concurrent treatment,

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Prolonged Exposure
12 sessions of PE as per protocol
Behavioral: Prolonged Exposure
Experimental: VRET
12 sessions of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
Behavioral: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PTSD symptoms
Time Frame: 6 months post treatment
PTSD as measured by the CAPS
6 months post treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Bar-Ilan University, Israel

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

December 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2018

Study Completion (Anticipated)

January 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 20, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 20, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

December 22, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 19, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 15, 2018

Last Verified

February 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • BIU201216

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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