Virtual Reality Therapy for Improving Caregiver and Patient Quality of Life in Home-Based Palliative Care in Saudi Arabia (VIRTIC-Hajj)

May 3, 2026 updated by: Mohammed Alanazi, University of Bisha

Virtual Reality Nature Therapy for Palliative Patients and Caregivers in Saudi Arabia: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Support Quality of Life and Cultural Adaptation

This randomized controlled trial evaluates the efficacy of a culturally adapted virtual reality (VR) nature therapy intervention aimed at improving the quality of life (QOL) and emotional well-being of palliative patients and their family caregivers in Saudi Arabia. The study involves immersive VR sessions depicting natural environments, including Saudi-specific landscapes, delivered to patient-caregiver dyads at home. Outcomes include self-reported QOL measures, psychophysiological parameters, and qualitative feedback.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This randomized controlled trial investigates the impact of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) nature therapy on quality of life and emotional well-being among palliative care patients and their caregivers in Saudi Arabia. The intervention includes culturally adapted, high-fidelity VR nature environments designed to promote psychological comfort, reduce stress, and provide sensory engagement aligned with local preferences. Participants-dyads of patients and their primary caregivers-will be randomly assigned to either the VR intervention group or a waitlist control group. The study explores outcomes such as changes in quality of life, anxiety, and emotional support using validated patient-reported outcome measures. This trial is among the first in the region to evaluate digital interventions for supportive care in palliative settings and aims to inform scalable, culturally relevant approaches to holistic symptom management in advanced illness.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

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

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:

  • Adult patients (≥18 years) receiving palliative care in Saudi Arabia
  • Primary family caregivers living with and providing daily care to the patient
  • Ability to provide informed consent
  • Fluent in Arabic

Exclusion Criteria

  • Severe cognitive impairment or psychiatric conditions that prevent use of VR
  • History of epilepsy or vestibular disorders
  • Inability to understand or follow instructions for using VR equipment

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: Immersive Nature VR
Participants will receive five 30-minute sessions of immersive VR exposure to culturally relevant nature scenes (e.g., Saudi desert oases, wadis, holy sites, and universal environments like forests and oceans) over five weeks using high-resolution VR headsets.
Device: Immersive Nature VR
The VR intervention will consist of a series of sessions using high-resolution VR headsets and user-friendly handheld controllers. The virtual environments will include six immersive nature scenes-three tailored to Saudi cultural preferences (e.g., desert oases, wadis, and Mecca-related sites), and three universally calming settings (e.g., beach, forest, and mountain landscapes). The intervention is designed to offer therapeutic sensory engagement and emotional respite.
No Intervention: Control Group - Treatment as usual
The control group will not receive any VR intervention and will receive a treatment as usual.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Quality of Life (PROMIS-29)
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and Week 5 (post-intervention)
The PROMIS-29 assesses health-related quality of life across seven domains: physical function, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, social participation, and pain interference. Each domain is scored on a standardized T-score scale ranging from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate better functioning for physical function and social participation domains, and worse symptoms for anxiety, depression, fatigue, pain interference, and sleep disturbance.
Baseline (Week 0) and Week 5 (post-intervention)
Change in Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and Week 5 (Post-intervention)
Heart rate variability (HRV) will be measured using the MUSE 2 headband. HRV metrics will be recorded prior to the first VR session (baseline) and during intervention sessions. Analysis will compare HRV at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Higher HRV values indicate better autonomic nervous system regulation and greater stress resilience.
Baseline (Week 0) and Week 5 (Post-intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Caregiver Stress and Emotional State
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and Week 5 (post-intervention)
Caregiver stress and emotional distress will be assessed using validated self-report scales (e.g., perceived stress and emotional distress measures). Higher scores indicate greater levels of stress and emotional burden.
Baseline (Week 0) and Week 5 (post-intervention)
Participant Engagement and Satisfaction (Qualitative)
Time Frame: Week 5 (post-intervention)
Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to explore participant engagement, acceptability, emotional impact, and cultural relevance of the VR intervention. Interviews will be conducted by trained research staff and analyzed using qualitative methods
Week 5 (post-intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Bisha

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mohammed O Alanazi, PhD, University of Bisha

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

Helpful Links

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 (Estimated)

October 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 1, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 3, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 3, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Ubisha-02

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Due to the sensitive and emotionally delicate nature of the data collected from palliative care patients and their caregivers-including psychological well-being, emotional distress, and physiological responses-maintaining strict confidentiality and privacy is essential. Additionally, IRB policies and ethical approvals may restrict the external sharing of individual-level data to protect the dignity and rights of this vulnerable population. Therefore, IPD will not be shared outside the research team to ensure adherence to ethical and institutional data protection standards.

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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