A Virtual Reality Relaxation Intervention for Clinical Staff

NCT05601908 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: REMAS15023
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 38
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Clinical staff working in mental health services experience high levels of work-related stress, burnout and poor wellbeing. They may work long hours, experience stress directly related to the emotional demands of the role and clinical responsibility, experience physical and psychological burnout and may experience high rates of workplace violence. Poorer wellbeing and high burnout amongst mental health staff has been associated with poorer quality of patient care, higher absenteeism, higher turnover rates, and low morale. Virtual reality (VR) relaxation is a technique whereby experiences of pleasant/ calming environments are accessed via a head mounted display to promote relaxation. The use of VR relaxation facilities in the workplace may provide a pragmatic approach to enabling employees to de-stress, relax and optimise their mental wellbeing and may reduce turnover and improve stress related sick leave across the National Health Service (NHS) workforce. The research will involve a pre-post-test of 5-weeks of VR relaxation for clinical staff working in mental health settings, including those working in inpatient settings and community teams. The pre-post-test will act as a feasibility trial, the primary aim is thereby to determine whether VR relaxation is feasible and acceptable amongst mental health staff. This feasibility study will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a 5-week course of weekly 20-minute sessions of VR relaxation for clinical staff. Feasibility and acceptability measures will be collected and summarised at the end of the trial, including percentage of those recruited who consent to take part, completion and drop-out rates, adverse events, and satisfaction with sessions. The secondary objective is to investigate the impact of the VR relaxation intervention on potential outcome measures for a randomised controlled trial (RCT), including perceived psychological stress, worry, psychological burnout, sleep quality and anxiety. The results from this study will inform a later trial by providing key parameters including recruitment, retention, acceptability, and adherence to the treatment protocol. Additionally, follow-up qualitative interviews will be conducted with staff who engaged in the VR and staff who withdrew, to develop an understanding of attitudes towards the VR relaxation intervention.

Conditions

Psychological Burnout; Stress, Psychological; Mental Health Burden

Keywords

virtual reality; relaxation; healthcare staff

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Number of wards and community teams agree to hosting the project and number that do not agree to hosting the VR relaxation project

  as assessed via a tally of acceptances and refusals

  Through study completion, an average of 22 months

• Number of people who consent to take part

  as assessed via a tally of acceptances and refusals

  Through study completion, an average of 22 months

• Average adherence to VR relaxation sessions and assessments

  as assessed via a record of number of VR sessions and number of assessments attended, and number of VR sessions and assessments not attended

  Throughout length of participation in the VR trial, 5 weeks

• Number of Participants With Treatment-Related Adverse Events

  as assessed via a tally of all medical effects observed and all medical effects reported by participants

  Through study completion, an average of 22 months

• What proportion of participants adhere to the 20-min VR session

  as assessed via a record of number of VR sessions completed in full (20 minutes) and number of sessions aborted before completion

  Throughout length of participation in the VR trial, 5 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Change in The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) score

  baseline, 5-weeks

• Change in The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) score

  baseline, 5-weeks

• Change in The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) score

  baseline, 5-weeks

• Change in The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score

  baseline, 5-weeks

• What proportion of participants successfully complete their personal goal, this will be measured using the Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS)

  baseline, 5-weeks

Other Outcomes (8)

• Change in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 10-point scale score assessing Stress

  Before and after each VR session, throughout length of participation in the VR trial, 5 weeks

• Change in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 10-point scale score assessing relaxation

  Before and after each VR session, throughout length of participation in the VR trial, 5 weeks

• Change in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 10-point scale score assessing tiredness

  Before and each each VR session, throughout length of participation in the VR trial, 5 weeks

Study Arms (1)

VR Relaxation

EXPERIMENTAL

a 5-week course of 20-min sessions of VR relaxation

Other: Virtual Reality Relaxation

Interventions

Virtual Reality Relaxation OTHER

Participants will undergo a 5-week course of 20-min sessions of VR relaxation. The VR device used will be the Oculus Quest wireless head mounted display (HMD) with two handheld controllers. The HMD and software have been provided by a Germany based company called Magic Horizons. Participants will be asked to wear the HMD and will wear headphones to hear audio. Each session will involve participants experiencing two virtual environments designed to promote relaxation, at least one of which will have a small interactive component to aid engagement. Environments will focus on nature and will be paired with soothing music or guided meditation. For example, scenes might include dolphins dancing underwater, a beach with rock pools, waterfalls, a rainforest, green meadows with flowers, mountains with lakes and/or a sandy desert. Participants will be seated throughout all sessions.

Also known as: VR relaxation

VR Relaxation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Clinical staff affiliated with South London and Maudsley National Health Service Trust (SLaM) and working in inpatient and outpatient mental health settings
• Aged 18 years or older
• Capacity to provide informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Staff with a history of epilepsy as there is a possibility that an epileptic episode may be generated by the VR equipment
• Is aged \<18 years old.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• King's College London: lead

Study Sites (1)

South London and Maudsley NHS Trust

London, Greater London, BR3 3BX, United Kingdom

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Morse G, Salyers MP, Rollins AL, Monroe-DeVita M, Pfahler C. Burnout in mental health services: a review of the problem and its remediation. Adm Policy Ment Health. 2012 Sep;39(5):341-52. doi: 10.1007/s10488-011-0352-1.

  PMID: 21533847 BACKGROUND

• d'Ettorre G, Pellicani V. Workplace Violence Toward Mental Healthcare Workers Employed in Psychiatric Wards. Saf Health Work. 2017 Dec;8(4):337-342. doi: 10.1016/j.shaw.2017.01.004. Epub 2017 Feb 6.

  PMID: 29276631 BACKGROUND

• Johnson J, Hall LH, Berzins K, Baker J, Melling K, Thompson C. Mental healthcare staff well-being and burnout: A narrative review of trends, causes, implications, and recommendations for future interventions. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2018 Feb;27(1):20-32. doi: 10.1111/inm.12416. Epub 2017 Dec 15.

  PMID: 29243348 BACKGROUND

• Riches S, Azevedo L, Bird L, Pisani S, Valmaggia L. Virtual reality relaxation for the general population: a systematic review. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2021 Oct;56(10):1707-1727. doi: 10.1007/s00127-021-02110-z. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

  PMID: 34120220 BACKGROUND

• Leon AC, Davis LL, Kraemer HC. The role and interpretation of pilot studies in clinical research. J Psychiatr Res. 2011 May;45(5):626-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.10.008. Epub 2010 Oct 28.

  PMID: 21035130 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Psychological; Stress, Psychological

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Simon Riches, PhD

  King's College London

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

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

Model Details: Pre-post-test

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 7, 2022
• First Posted: November 1, 2022
• Study Start: December 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2023
• Study Completion: December 30, 2023
• Last Updated: January 30, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-01

Locations

GB (1)