Virtual vs Physical Art Therapy for Anxiety, Psychological Well-being, and Sleep Quality in Colorectal Cancer Patients (PVART-CRC)

March 7, 2026 updated by: Esra Uslu Tanış, Dokuz Eylul University

Effects of Virtual Art Therapy Delivered Through Virtual Reality Glasses and Physical Art Therapy on Anxiety, Psychological Well-being, and Sleep Quality in Patients With Colorectal Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of virtual reality-based art therapy and physical art therapy on anxiety, psychological well-being, and sleep quality in patients with colorectal cancer receiving outpatient chemotherapy. A total of 78 patients will be randomly assigned to three groups: a virtual reality art therapy group, a physical art therapy group, and a control group. Participants in the intervention groups will receive art therapy sessions every two weeks for eight weeks (four sessions in total). Anxiety, psychological well-being, and sleep quality will be assessed using validated scales before the intervention and after the fourth session. The findings are expected to contribute to the development of non-pharmacological supportive care interventions for oncology patients.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Cancer and its treatments can lead to various psychological and physical symptoms, including anxiety, reduced psychological well-being, and impaired sleep quality. Non-pharmacological interventions such as art therapy have been increasingly used to support symptom management and improve psychological outcomes in patients with cancer.

This randomized controlled trial will evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality-based art therapy and traditional physical art therapy in patients with colorectal cancer receiving outpatient chemotherapy. The study will be conducted at Dokuz Eylul University Hospital in Türkiye. The sample will consist of 78 adult patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer who meet the inclusion criteria.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups:

Virtual reality art therapy group Physical art therapy group Control group Patients in the intervention groups will participate in art therapy sessions every two weeks for a total of four sessions over eight weeks.

In the physical art therapy group, participants will create drawings using colored pencils and paper through structured therapeutic activities designed to promote emotional expression and stress management.

In the virtual reality art therapy group, participants will use a virtual reality headset and motion controllers to create drawings in a virtual painting environment using the Vermillion VR painting application. This immersive environment allows participants to engage in creative expression through digital art-making.

Each intervention session will last approximately 30 minutes. Standardized therapeutic prompts and breathing awareness exercises will be used at the beginning and end of each session.

Participants in the control group will receive routine care without art therapy interventions.

Data will be collected using the following instruments:

Sociodemographic and disease-related information form Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) Psychological Well-Being Scale Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire Measurements will be conducted at baseline and after completion of the fourth session. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores will also be collected before and after each intervention session to evaluate immediate changes in anxiety levels.

The results of this study are expected to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of virtual reality-based art therapy and physical art therapy as supportive care interventions for improving psychological outcomes and sleep quality in patients with colorectal cancer.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

78

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Balçova
      • Izmir, Balçova, Turkey (Türkiye), 35330
        • Recruiting
        • Dokuz Eylul University Hospital
        • 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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria Age 18 years or older Diagnosed with colorectal cancer Receiving outpatient chemotherapy (FOLFOX or XELOX regimen) ECOG performance status between 0 and 2 Not receiving radiotherapy No hearing or speech impairments No severe psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder) Able to understand the study procedures and provide informed consent Willing to participate in the study Exclusion Criteria ECOG performance status of 3 or higher Patients who do not meet the inclusion criteria Patients unwilling to participate in the study

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Virtual Reality Art Therapy
Participants in this group will receive virtual reality-based art therapy using a virtual reality headset and motion controllers. Patients will create drawings in a virtual painting environment using the Vermillion VR painting application. Sessions will be conducted every two weeks for eight weeks, for a total of four sessions.
Behavioral: Virtual Reality Art Therapy
Participants will engage in art-making activities using a virtual reality headset and motion controllers. The Vermillion VR painting application will be used to allow participants to create drawings in an immersive virtual environment. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes and will be conducted every two weeks for a total of four sessions.
Experimental: Physical Art Therapy
Participants in this group will receive traditional art therapy sessions using colored pencils and paper. Sessions will be conducted every two weeks for eight weeks, for a total of four sessions.
Behavioral: Physical Art Therapy
Participants will engage in structured art-making activities using colored pencils and paper. Each participant will receive standard drawing materials and will be guided through therapeutic drawing exercises aimed at promoting emotional expression and stress reduction. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes and will be conducted every two weeks for a total of four sessions.
No Intervention: Control Group
Participants in this group will receive routine care without art therapy interventions. Outcome measurements will be collected at baseline and at the end of the study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Anxiety Level
Time Frame: Baseline and after completion of the fourth intervention session (8 weeks)
Anxiety levels will be assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The anxiety subscale consists of 7 items with scores ranging from 0 to 21. Higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety.
Baseline and after completion of the fourth intervention session (8 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Psychological Well-being
Time Frame: Baseline and after completion of the fourth intervention session (8 weeks)
Psychological well-being will be measured using the Psychological Well-Being Scale (Flourishing Scale). The scale consists of 8 items scored on a 7-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater psychological well-being.
Baseline and after completion of the fourth intervention session (8 weeks)
Change in Sleep Quality
Time Frame: Baseline and after completion of the fourth intervention session (8 weeks)
Sleep quality will be evaluated using the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ). The scale uses a visual analog format ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better sleep quality.
Baseline and after completion of the fourth intervention session (8 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Dokuz Eylul University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • Kaimal G, Ray K, Muniz J. Reduction of cortisol levels and participants' responses following art making. Art Therapy. 2016;33(2):74-80.
  • Hacmun I, Regev D, Solomon V. Art therapy in virtual reality: A qualitative study of art therapists' perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021.
  • Jiang XH, Chen XJ, Xie QQ, et al. Effects of art therapy in cancer care: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Cancer Care. 2020;29:e13277.
  • Bosman JT, Bood ZM, Scherer-Rath M, et al. The effects of art therapy on anxiety, depression, and quality of life in adults with cancer: A systematic literature review. Supportive Care in Cancer. 2021;29:2289-2298.

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 (Actual)

March 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 7, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 7, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 7, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • DokuzEU-SBE-EUT-01

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

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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