Effects of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Mental Health Outcomes and Academic Success in Physical Therapy Students

NCT06567496 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: BelmontU
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 23
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Exploring the impact of a virtual reality program, First Resort on graduate physical therapy student wellness and academic success.

Conditions

Mental Stress; Anxiety; Depression; Satisfaction

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Patient Health Questionnaire-8

  Self-reported questionnaire most frequently used worldwide for the screening and severity assessment of depression. Minimum score of 0 indicating no or minimal depression and maximum of 24 which is severe depression.

  8 weeks

• General Anxiety Disorder-7

  Self-reported questionnaire to measure or assess the severity of generalized anxiety disorder. Minimum score of 0 indicating no or minimal anxiety and maximum of 21 which is severe anxiety.

  8 weeks

• Perceived Stress Scale-10

  Self-reported measure of global perceived stress. Minimum score of 0 indicating low perceived stress and maximum of 40 which high perceived stress.

  8 weeks

• Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8

  Self-reported questionnaire assessing satisfaction with the intervention. Minimum score of 8 indicating low satisfaction and maximum of 32 which is very high satisfaction.

  8 weeks

• Self-reported Cumulative Grade Point Average

  Participants self-report the overall semester grade point average. 0.0-4.0 with 0.0 indicating failure and 4.0 indicating all A's.

  8 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Patient Health Questionnaire-2

  8 weeks

• General Anxiety Disorder-2

  8 weeks

• The exit survey included several questions about Life style factors

  8 weeks

• Qualitative feedback_Focus groups

  8 weeks

• Descriptive categorical

  8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

8 week First Resort virtual reality navigated through Meta Quest II headset devices

Other: First Resort

Delayed experimental intervention group

OTHER

8 week First Resort virtual reality navigated through Meta Quest II headset devices delayed by one semester

Other: First Resort

Interventions

First Resort OTHER

First Resort is an 8-week, self-guided, at-home, virtual reality program designed to be navigated via Meta Quest II headset devices and will be used as an intervention.

Also known as: First

Delayed experimental intervention group; Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Physical Therapy students enrolled at a single university in the southern United States during the fall 2024 semester

You may not qualify if:

• Patient Health Questionnaire-8 score of 15 or more General Anxiety Disorder-7 score of 15 or more History of seizures History of motion sickness History of epilepsy History of balance impairment History of significant visual History of auditory impairment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Belmont University: lead
• BehaVR LLC: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Belmont University

Nashville, Tennessee, 37212, United States

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Hoying J, Melnyk BM, Hutson E, Tan A. Prevalence and Correlates of Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Healthy Beliefs, and Lifestyle Behaviors in First-Year Graduate Health Sciences Students. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2020 Feb;17(1):49-59. doi: 10.1111/wvn.12415. Epub 2020 Jan 8.

  PMID: 31912989 BACKGROUND

• Bolinski F, Etzelmuller A, De Witte NAJ, van Beurden C, Debard G, Bonroy B, Cuijpers P, Riper H, Kleiboer A. Physiological and self-reported arousal in virtual reality versus face-to-face emotional activation and cognitive restructuring in university students: A crossover experimental study using wearable monitoring. Behav Res Ther. 2021 Jul;142:103877. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103877. Epub 2021 May 11.

  PMID: 34029860 BACKGROUND

• Ma J, Zhao D, Xu N, Yang J. The effectiveness of immersive virtual reality (VR) based mindfulness training on improvement mental-health in adults: A narrative systematic review. Explore (NY). 2023 May-Jun;19(3):310-318. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2022.08.001. Epub 2022 Aug 5.

  PMID: 36002363 BACKGROUND

• Macauley K, Plummer L. Prevalence and Predictors of Anxiety in Doctor of Physical Therapy Students. J Allied Health. 2017 Summer;46(2):e39-e41.

  PMID: 28561872 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• A mental wellness game for Quest Virtual Reality. First Resort. (2022, November 28).
• Stress, worry \& sadness. RealizedCare

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress, Psychological; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Personal Satisfaction

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Sue E Curfman, PT, DHSc

  Belmont University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: Mixed methods randomized controlled trial with a waitlist control group incorporating focus groups

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 16, 2024
• First Posted: August 22, 2024
• Study Start: August 16, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 15, 2025
• Study Completion: May 15, 2025
• Last Updated: February 7, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)