Life at 100.4: An Immersive Social Virtual Reality (VR) Education Tool for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Caregivers

Life at 100.4: An Immersive Social Virtual Reality Education Tool for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Caregivers

The purpose of this study is to design and Beta test the Life at 100.4, an immersive social virtual reality education tool, with an anticipated 5 patient-caregiver-provider triads.Patients at Yale Pediatric Hematology and Oncology with a new oncologic diagnosis and their caregivers will be eligible for enrollment. Investigators will determine the feasibility and acceptability of implementing Life at 100.4 using validated measures.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Cancer; Adolescent Cancer; Young Adult Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Life at 100.4

Detailed Description

Febrile neutropenia, a condition marked by fever and low numbers of neutrophils, is the most commonly encountered complication of childhood cancer treatment. The mortality of untreated febrile neutropenia is as high as 30%. Delay of appropriate care and increased time to antibiotics are associated with increased mortality. Reasons for delay to care include a lack of understanding about the seriousness of febrile neutropenia or difficulty navigating the healthcare system. Effective, and evidence-based educational experiences can reduce morbidity and mortality rates related to febrile neutropenia. This proposal aims to combat knowledge gaps surrounding febrile neutropenia through the creation of an immersive social VR-based intervention, Life at 100.4. This program will provide critical education to patients and caregivers related to febrile neutropenia during cancer treatment. This work will result in the development of a critical new tool specific to febrile neutropenia while establishing VR more broadly as an effective patient and caregiver education tool, particularly for the near 40% of the population with low health literacy.

Objective 1 will include a qualitative study comprising interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders conducted by the Yale team to understand attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge around the navigation of febrile neutropenia.

Objective 2 will be the production of a VR-based prototype.

Objective 3, the focus of this registration, will assess feasibility and usability of this education tool.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Asher Marks, MD; Phone Number: 203-785-4640; Email: asher.marks@yale.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Vidya Puthepura, MD; Phone Number: 203-785-4640; Email: vidya.puthenpura@yale.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06520
      • Recruiting
      • Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic in Smilow Cancer Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Newly diagnosed with a malignancy or bone marrow failure condition
• Planned to receive chemotherapy and receive a central line

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medical contraindication to virtual reality including head wounds and history of seizure with flashing lights
• No plan to receive chemotherapy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Objective 1: Focus groups; Participants will participate in a 45 minute to 1-hour long focus group with similar stake holders to inform the intervention. These groups will take place via Zoom teleconferencing software, have 4-6 participants per group and will be run by appropriately trained study staff.
Experimental: Objective 3: Beta testing of VR-based educational intervention, Life at 100.4, to improve understanding of fever with neutropenia, how and when to check for it, and what to do when they have a fever.	Behavioral: Life at 100.4; An Immersive Social Virtual Reality Education Tool, participation up to 2 hours

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Multimodal Presence Scale for Virtual Environments	A 15-item validated tool to assess presence in VR. There are five items for each of the three dimensions, Physical Presence, Social Presence, and Self-Presence, scored on a 5-point Likert scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Total score for each dimension 1-5 with higher scores indicating a stronger sense of presence in that dimension.	immediately post-intervention, up to 2 hours
System Usability Scale (SUS)	A 10-item questionnaire with responses provided on a Likert scale. The SUS has been applied in evaluating the usability of different websites, software, and human computer interfaces. The final score is on a scale of 0-100. Higher scores indicate more usability.	immediately post-intervention, up to 2 hours
Technology Acceptance Model (TAC)	Technology Acceptance Model questionnaire with questions related to Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use. Total score range 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher acceptance and use.	immediately post-intervention, up to 2 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yale University
• Collaborators: National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR); The Glimpse Group Inc
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Asher Marks, MD, Yale University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 11, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 31, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 31, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): November 4, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 25, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 24, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Adolescent Cancer Patients and Caregivers; Young Adult Cancer Patients and Caregivers
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2000040734; 1R41NR022239 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

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