Effects of an Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention

Effects of an Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention Combined With Mindfulness-based Therapy on Mental Health in Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Some recent studies demonstrated caregivers may experience negative emotions such as anxiety and sadness, which may also affect normal treatment during the epidemic. As the pandemic continues, mental health support, encouragement , and a sense of purpose are needed to support healthcare workers.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: COVID-19 Pandemic; Nurse's Role; Mental Stress
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction by Therapeutic VR; Behavioral: Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 81
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Jiangsu
    • Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, 210029
      • Wu Ye

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 56 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Registered nurses (RN) who work in target departments were included. The target departments mainly included internal medicine, surgical, emergency department, where nurses had direct mutual engagement with patients.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Nurses who have not been involved in the COVID-19 volunteer service.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction by Therapeutic VR	Behavioral: Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction by Therapeutic VR; Therapeutic VR+MBT was provided using a head-mounted display which designed to enclose eyes and block external stimuli almost entirely. Patients can see immersive natural scenes through VR devices and hear stereo sounds through headphones. We uploaded a programme, which was designed to induce recordings of guided meditations (The same as the MBT), musics for meditation and consists of meditation-videos of 40 minutes. We will guide patients to choose their favorite meditation videos, such as forest, seaside, lake, snow mountain, field and so on.
Active Comparator: mindfulness-based therapy	Behavioral: Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction; 39 participates randomized and allocated to this group. MBT was conducted as an 8-week group intervention. Sessions typically began with formal mindfulness meditations that include breathing exercises, prolonged expiratory relaxation, body scan, and meditation. MBT was delivered by the first author, who has specialized training in mindfulness meditation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21)	The questionnaire of the Chinese version of DASS-21 has a total of 21 items and measures three negative emotional experiences of depression, anxiety and stress	up to 8 weeks
The impact of COVID-19	There is a separate questions. "Has COVID-19 affected your mood at work?"(0~10)	up to 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): November 30, 2022
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 30, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 24, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 24, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 5, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 5, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 24, 2022
• Last Verified: November 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Lung Diseases; COVID-19; Stress, Psychological
• Other Study ID Numbers: NUCM22_0708

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No