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Effectiveness of a Combined e-Learning and Virtual Reality Training Program for Healthcare Providers in Rheumatology

18 septembre 2026 mis à jour par: hvanmiddendorp, Leiden University

Context Matters: Training Healthcare Professionals in Communication to Maximize Placebo Effects and Minimize Nocebo Effects in Rheumatology: A Multicentre, Randomized Controlled Trial.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of communication training on the communication skills of the healthcare provider in the rheumatology department during consults with patients.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Is communication training effective in increasing the self-perceived communication skills of the healthcare provider?
  • Is communication training effective in increasing the evaluation of patients on the communication skills of their corresponding healthcare provider?

Researchers will compare one group who will receive communication training to one group who will not receive any training to see if there is a significant difference in self-evaluation and patient-evaluation on their communication skills.

Participants will begin by completing a pre-test self-evaluation questionnaire, followed by communication training. After the training, they will complete a post-test self-evaluation questionnaire. Over the next eight weeks following the training, participants will gather evaluations from their patients on their communication skills during the most recent consultation.

Aperçu de l'étude

Description détaillée

Background: Leading experts on placebo and nocebo effects agree that healthcare providers should be trained to effectively leverage expectancy effects in clinical practice. However, these practices have rarely been implemented with many healthcare providers lacking the expertise to fully take care of patient expectancies. Thus, we developed an e-Learning course and a virtual training tool that trains healthcare professionals across all disciplines to communicate with patients in a manner that maximizes placebo effects and minimizes nocebo effects.

Aim: The current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the combined e-Learning course and Virtual Reality training at improving expectancy-based communication within the department of rheumatology.

Method: Dutch healthcare providers (n= 52) working across rheumatology departments in the Netherlands will be stratified on specialization (e.g., rheumatologist, physician assistant, nurse specialist, medical resident or medical researcher) and randomized to either the intervention (e-Learning + VR training) or the control group (no training + e-Learning knowledge exam). The effect of the training is evaluated by a pre-post self-evaluation of clinicians (main outcome: SE12) and patient evaluations (N= 884) (secondary outcome: QQPPI).

Participants: Healthcare providers participating in the study must be active and working in the rheumatology department. Additionally, they must see patients on a regular basis.

Patients must be 18 years or older and require a mastery of spoken and written Dutch.

Intervention tools: for the communication training consists of an e-Learning course with 6 modules, including: 1) Optimizing patient-provider relationship, 2) discussing expectations, 3) discussing the treatment rationale, 4) discussing risks and side-effects, 5) explain placebo and nocebo effects and 6) expectancy-based communication during tapering. The course also includes seven case-by-case study questions and a knowledge exam consisting of 15 randomized questions at the end of the course. Participants are required to pass the test with a minimal grade of 7.

The Virtual Reality app consists of 2 modules with each a separate virtual avatar representing a patient. The app incorporates A.I. generated dialogue that is bound to the topic of the case. The training is supported by a feedback system at the end of a playthrough and is designed for multiple playthroughs in order to create a 'learning by experience' effect.

Main outcomes: The primary outcome will be determined by comparing the scores of the two study groups on the validated self-evaluation questionnaire 'SE-12' before and after the intervention.

The secondary outcome will be determined by comparing the scores of the two groups on the validated patient-evaluation questionnaire 'QQPPI'.

Exploratory outcomes: Additional outcome measures will include comparing the average scores of the intervention and control groups on the e-Learning knowledge exam, as well as tracking the score progression of healthcare providers across multiple sessions of the Virtual Reality app.

After the conclusion of the study, the control group will be offered the same training as the intervention group.

Type d'étude

Interventionnel

Inscription (Estimé)

936

Phase

  • N'est pas applicable

Contacts et emplacements

Cette section fournit les coordonnées de ceux qui mènent l'étude et des informations sur le lieu où cette étude est menée.

Coordonnées de l'étude

Lieux d'étude

    • South Holland
      • Leiden, South Holland, Pays-Bas, 2333AK

Critères de participation

Les chercheurs recherchent des personnes qui correspondent à une certaine description, appelée critères d'éligibilité. Certains exemples de ces critères sont l'état de santé général d'une personne ou des traitements antérieurs.

Critère d'éligibilité

Âges éligibles pour étudier

18 ans et plus (Adulte, Adulte plus âgé)

Accepte les volontaires sains

Oui

Sexes éligibles pour l'étude

Tout

La description

Inclusion criteria for healthcare providers:

  • being 18 years or older
  • having a good command of the Dutch language, both written and spoken.
  • being a healthcare provider within the rheumatology department (e.g., rheumatologist, physician assistant, rheumatology nurse, medical resident, or medical researcher).
  • regularly seeing rheumatology patients during consultations.

No exclusion criteria, except for not having regular supervisory meetings with patients with rheumatic diseases.

Inclusion criteria for patients :

  • being 18 years or older
  • having a good command of the Dutch language, both written and spoken
  • having had a consultation with one of the participating healthcare providers (intervention or control group) within the past 8 weeks

Plan d'étude

Cette section fournit des détails sur le plan d'étude, y compris la façon dont l'étude est conçue et ce que l'étude mesure.

Comment l'étude est-elle conçue ?

Détails de conception

  • Objectif principal: Soins de soutien
  • Répartition: Randomisé
  • Modèle interventionnel: Affectation parallèle
  • Masquage: Seul

Armes et Interventions

Groupe de participants / Bras
Intervention / Traitement
Expérimental: Communicating training group

Healthcare providers in the experimental group receive communication training consisting of an e-Learning communication course and knowledge exam of 1 hour and communication training in a virtual reality environment with a virtual avatar for 1 hour.

An e-learning course comprising six modules, each featuring case-based questions, followed by a comprehensive knowledge exam. The course concludes with a Virtual Reality training program, which includes two immersive modules and AI-generated dialogue for an interactive learning experience.

Aucune intervention: No training group

Healthcare providers in the control group receive no training but have the opportunity to receive the training after the study has been concluded.

Que mesure l'étude ?

Principaux critères de jugement

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Changes in total scores from a pre-test to a post-test evaluation between the arms on the SE-12 self-evaluation questionnaire, supplemented with customized questions regarding patient expectations.
Délai: After inclusion into the study, which precedes the training with mostly a few weeks, a baseline assessment is done. After completing the training, a post-test evaluation is done, within approximately 2 weeks after the training.

The self-evaluation questionnaire consists of questions about communication skills, primarily focused on how certain the healthcare provider is in successfully performing a specific action during the consultation with a patient.

The ratings are scored on a scale of one to ten, with one being very unlikely and ten being very likely.

After inclusion into the study, which precedes the training with mostly a few weeks, a baseline assessment is done. After completing the training, a post-test evaluation is done, within approximately 2 weeks after the training.

Mesures de résultats secondaires

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Score difference between arms on patient-evaluation based on the QQPPI questionnaire, supplemented with customized questions regarding expectations for the communication skills of healthcare providers during their most recent consultation.
Délai: Patient-evaluations will be collected over the course of eight weeks after completing the communication training by healthcare providers

The patient-evaluation questionnaire consists of questions about statements and assertions concerning the most recent consultation.

The scale consists of five ratings, with 1 being 'I do not agree' and five being 'I fully agree'.

Patient-evaluations will be collected over the course of eight weeks after completing the communication training by healthcare providers

Collaborateurs et enquêteurs

C'est ici que vous trouverez les personnes et les organisations impliquées dans cette étude.

Dates d'enregistrement des études

Ces dates suivent la progression des dossiers d'étude et des soumissions de résultats sommaires à ClinicalTrials.gov. Les dossiers d'étude et les résultats rapportés sont examinés par la Bibliothèque nationale de médecine (NLM) pour s'assurer qu'ils répondent à des normes de contrôle de qualité spécifiques avant d'être publiés sur le site Web public.

Dates principales de l'étude

Début de l'étude (Réel)

27 mars 2025

Achèvement primaire (Estimé)

1 avril 2027

Achèvement de l'étude (Estimé)

1 juillet 2027

Dates d'inscription aux études

Première soumission

27 juillet 2026

Première soumission répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

18 septembre 2026

Première publication (Réel)

22 septembre 2026

Mises à jour des dossiers d'étude

Dernière mise à jour publiée (Réel)

22 septembre 2026

Dernière mise à jour soumise répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

18 septembre 2026

Dernière vérification

1 juillet 2026

Plus d'information

Termes liés à cette étude

Plan pour les données individuelles des participants (IPD)

Prévoyez-vous de partager les données individuelles des participants (DPI) ?

OUI

Description du régime IPD

Shared IPD will consist of pseudonymized demographic data, questionnaire results and performance on training measurements.

Délai de partage IPD

Data will become available after publication of the study and remain available for 10 years.

Critères d'accès au partage IPD

The data will be securely restricted and access will be granted upon request to the author for research purposes.

Type d'informations de prise en charge du partage d'IPD

  • PROTOCOLE D'ÉTUDE
  • SÈVE
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Informations sur les médicaments et les dispositifs, documents d'étude

Étudie un produit pharmaceutique réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Étudie un produit d'appareil réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Ces informations ont été extraites directement du site Web clinicaltrials.gov sans aucune modification. Si vous avez des demandes de modification, de suppression ou de mise à jour des détails de votre étude, veuillez contacter register@clinicaltrials.gov. Dès qu'un changement est mis en œuvre sur clinicaltrials.gov, il sera également mis à jour automatiquement sur notre site Web .

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