oVRcome Self-guided Virtual Reality for Specific Phobias

NCT04909177 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: oVRcome specific phobia
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 126
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Specific phobias: fear of flying, heights, spiders, dogs and needles are the extremely common and exposure therapy (ET) is the first line of treatment. Using Virtual Reality (VR), participants will have control in gradual exposure to their fears. oVRcome (https://www.ovrcome.io/ Virtual reality app), is a self-help VRET for specific phobias, that is delivered through a smartphone application (app) in combination with a low cost headset that holds the smartphone and uses 360º video. The investigators hypothesize that oVRcome is effective in reducing specific phobia symptoms.

Conditions

Specific Phobia

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Severity Measure for Specific Phobia-Adult American Psychological Association

  The Severity Measure for Specific Phobia-Adult is a 10-item self-report measure that assesses the severity of specific phobia in individuals age 18 and older. The total score can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating greater severity of specific phobia.

  Week 6

Secondary Outcomes (8)

• Brief Standard Self rating scale for phobic patients

  6 weeks, 12 weeks, 18 weeks

• Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI-C)

  weekly (Weeks 1-6)

• Patient Health Questionnaire - PHQ 9

  6 weeks, 12 weeks, 18 weeks

• Subjective Units of Distress Scale

  Week 4, 5 and 6

• Modified Gatineau Presence Questionnaire First item

  Week 4, 5 and 6

Study Arms (2)

Smartphone application (app) in combination with headset

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention oVRcome is self-help VRET for specific phobia, that is delivered through a smartphone application (app) in combination with headset that holds the smartphone and uses 360º video. oVRcome includes 6 modules of psychoeducation, relaxation, mindfulness, cognitive techniques, exposure through VR, and a relapse prevention module which are aimed to be completed weekly.

Other: Smartphone application (app) in combination with headset

Waitlist

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the waitlist condition will be offered the intervention directly after post-test.

Interventions

Smartphone application (app) in combination with headset OTHER

The intervention oVRcome is self-help VRET for specific phobia, that is delivered through a smartphone application (app) in combination with headset that holds the smartphone and uses 360º video. oVRcome includes 6 modules of psychoeducation, relaxation, mindfulness, cognitive techniques, exposure through VR, and a relapse prevention module which are aimed to be completed weekly.

Smartphone application (app) in combination with headset

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• In order to be eligible to participate in this study, a subject must meet all of the following criteria:
• are between 18-64 years old
• Have a fear of flying, heights, spiders, dogs, needles and score above 4 on the Brief Standard Self rating scale for phobic patients (Marks, I. Matthews ,A (1979) Behaviour Research and Therapy)
• have access to a smart phone and internet
• willing to participate in the research study and providing informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• A potential subject who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
• present with symptoms of severe depression or suicidality respectively as measured with the PHQ-9; total score \> 19
• have insufficient knowledge of the English language
• are under current treatment for specific phobia or psychotropic medication (unless on stable dosage for the previous 3 months and no changes planned during the study period).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Otago: lead
• oVRcome: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Otago, Christchurch

Christchurch, Canterbury, 8011, New Zealand

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Lacey C, Frampton C, Beaglehole B. oVRcome - Self-guided virtual reality for specific phobias: A randomised controlled trial. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2023 May;57(5):736-744. doi: 10.1177/00048674221110779. Epub 2022 Jul 11.

  PMID: 35818296 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Phobia, Specific

Interventions

Amyloid

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Multiprotein Complexes; Macromolecular Substances; Proteins; Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins

Study Officials

• Cameron Lacey, PhD

  University of Otago

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 26, 2021
• First Posted: June 1, 2021
• Study Start: June 2, 2021
• Primary Completion: September 7, 2021
• Study Completion: March 7, 2022
• Last Updated: August 22, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

NZ (1)