Virtual Reality Hypnosis and Nurses' Stress

NCT06786962 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: HYPNOVR - NEONAT
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 43
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The practice of nursing is based on helping relationships and empathy. The work is physically, mentally and emotionally demanding. This requires the mobilization of personal resources (lifestyle, coping strategies) and work resources (managerial, medical support, recognition) to cope with stress. When these resources are present, nurses can activate a resilience process through coping strategies. However, stress levels and emotional impact are such that they can lead to states of suffering and trauma such as compassion fatigue (CF). The prevalence of CF is high in the nursing profession and particularly among neonatal intensive care (NICU) nurses. Several levels of intervention exist to prevent CF in services: organizational, inter-individual and individual. At the individual level, certain interventions such as meditation have been studied, showing positive effects with the highest levels of evidence. On the other hand, interventions such as hypnosis have not yet been studied in this context. There is, however, an interest in studying hypnosis as a non-pharmacological intervention to reduce stress and improve emotional regulation. Indeed, the hypnotic process (promoting attentional and cognitive rest, redirecting attentional focus, reducing mental effort) is a resource activator. In order to combine individual and organizational support, the intervention must be offered in the workplace and during working hours, given the difficulty nurses have in extracting themselves from the service, the restricted break time and the acceptability of the virtual reality system. In a context where break time is short and precious, it is necessary to use a tool that adapts to these constraints. Virtual reality with the HypnoVR® tool meets these needs. This device acts as a restorative environment. It has already proven its effectiveness in the care of painful and stressed patients in critical situations. It has not yet been studied in the context of work-related stress in healthcare professionals, such as neonatal intensive care nurses. The protocol takes into account the results of studies reporting the effects associated with the use of virtual reality (VR).

Conditions

Hypnosis; Virtual Reality Therapy; Stress; Compassion Fatigue; Compassion Satisfaction; Emotions; Anxiety

Keywords

Hypnosis; Virtual reality; Stress; Compassion fatigue; Neonatal intensive care nurses; Stress reduction program; Non Pharmacological Intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Stress levels

  Perceived stress: a single question on stress symptoms : "Stress is a situation in which a person feels tense, restless, nervous or anxious, or can't sleep at night because their mind is constantly troubled. Are you feeling this type of stress these days?" The answer will be recorded on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (a lot).

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Emotions

  Emotions : 10 items from the short version of the Positive and Negative Affects Schedule .

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Anxiety

  State anxiety : 10 items from the short version of the State Anxiety Scale

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Restoration

  Restoration: 3 items from the Mental Restoration Scale

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Satisfaction and compassion fatigue

  Satisfaction and compassion fatigue: 21 items from the ProQOL - 21 scale

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Comfort level

  Comfort: indicator of parasympathetic changes in emotional situations during each session, with the ANI Guardian® device.

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Evaluation of experience

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Acceptability

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants are seated in a quiet area of the unit. The control group of 21 participants consists of a break with the following instructions and suggestions: "Take advantage of this break, this time just for you, to recharge your batteries. Sit in this armchair and I suggest you think of something pleasant and comfortable".

Other: Control arm (SEQ):

VRH Group

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group of 22 participants consists of a hypnosis intervention using a virtual reality device (HypnoVR®). Participants are seated in a quiet area of the unit: They choose a visual scenario from among 3 proposals, guaranteeing the conditions of a restorative environment. During each session, the same script (support mode) is spoken and the same music (serenity program with soothing tones) is associated with the script. Each participant is fitted with a virtual reality mask and a headset with active noise reduction.

Device: Virtual reality Hypnosis

Interventions

Virtual reality Hypnosis DEVICE

The experimental group of 22 participants consists of a hypnosis intervention using a virtual reality device (HypnoVR®). Participants are seated in a quiet area of the unit: They choose a visual scenario from among 3 proposals, guaranteeing the conditions of a restorative environment. During each session, the same script (support mode) is spoken and the same music (serenity program with soothing tones) is associated with the script. Each participant is fitted with a virtual reality mask and a headset with active noise reduction.

VRH Group

Control arm (SEQ): OTHER

Restoration time Participants are seated in a quiet area of the unit. The control group of 21 participants consists of a break with the following instructions and suggestions: "Take advantage of this break, this time just for you, to recharge your batteries. Sit in this armchair and I suggest you think of something pleasant and comfortable".

Control group

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Nurse
• Regularly work in a neonatal intensive care unit
• Be of legal age and not opposed to participating in research
• Fluency in French

You may not qualify if:

• Age \< 18
• Refusal to participate
• Current anticonvulsant or psychotropic treatment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• CARESP: Cellule d'animation régionale en soins palliatifs: lead
• University of Rennes 2: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

RENNES

Rennes, Brittany Region, 35000, France

Location

Related Publications (17)

• Nukarinen, T., Istance, H. O., Rantala, J., Mäkelä, J., Korpela, K., Ronkainen, K., Surakka, V., & Raisamo, R. (2020). Physiological and Psychological Restoration in Matched Real and Virtual Natural Environments. Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1145/3334480.3382956

  RESULT

• Asadollah F, Nikfarid L, Sabery M, Varzeshnejad M, Hashemi F. The Impact of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Compassion Fatigue of Nurses Working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study. Holist Nurs Pract. 2023 Jul-Aug 01;37(4):215-222. doi: 10.1097/HNP.0000000000000590.

  PMID: 37335149 RESULT

• Boselli, E. (2018). Intérêt du monitorage du tonus parasympathique relatif par Analgesia/Nociception Index (ANI) chez les patients anesthésiés ou conscients. Douleurs : Évaluation - Diagnostic - Traitement, 19(5), 205-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.douler.2018.07.008

  RESULT

• Bresesti I, Folgori L, De Bartolo P. Interventions to reduce occupational stress and burn out within neonatal intensive care units: a systematic review. Occup Environ Med. 2020 Aug;77(8):515-519. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2019-106256. Epub 2020 Mar 4.

  PMID: 32132183 RESULT

• Figley, C. R. (Éd.). (2015). Compassion fatigue : Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. Routledge.

  RESULT

• Jess G, Pogatzki-Zahn EM, Zahn PK, Meyer-Friessem CH. Monitoring heart rate variability to assess experimentally induced pain using the analgesia nociception index: A randomised volunteer study. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2016 Feb;33(2):118-25. doi: 10.1097/EJA.0000000000000304.

  PMID: 26266775 RESULT

• Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature : Toward an integrative framework. Journal of environmental psychology, 15(3), 169-182.

  RESULT

• Joinson C. Coping with compassion fatigue. Nursing. 1992 Apr;22(4):116, 118-9, 120. No abstract available.

  PMID: 1570090 RESULT

• Liang, L., Gobeawan, L., Lau, S.-K., Lin, E. S., & Ang, K. K. (2024). Urban Green Spaces and Mental Well-Being : A Systematic Review of Studies Comparing Virtual Reality versus Real Nature. Future Internet, 16(6), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16060182

  RESULT

• Ruysschaert, N. (2009). (Self) hypnosis in the prevention of burnout and compassion fatigue for caregivers : Theory and induction. Contemporary Hypnosis (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 26(3), 159-172. https://doi.org/10.1002/ch.382

  RESULT

• Touloudi E, Hassandra M, Galanis E, Goudas M, Theodorakis Y. Applicability of an Immersive Virtual Reality Exercise Training System for Office Workers during Working Hours. Sports (Basel). 2022 Jun 29;10(7):104. doi: 10.3390/sports10070104.

  PMID: 35878115 RESULT

• Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.

  PMID: 3397865 RESULT

• Wong JQH, Charles JS, Mok HT, Tan TSZ, Amin Z, Ng YPM. Experiences of healthcare personnel with death in the neonatal intensive care unit: a systematic review of qualitative studies. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2023 Nov;108(6):617-622. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2023-325566. Epub 2023 May 17.

  PMID: 37197908 RESULT

• Zhang YY, Zhang C, Han XR, Li W, Wang YL. Determinants of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and burn out in nursing: A correlative meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018 Jun;97(26):e11086. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000011086.

  PMID: 29952947 RESULT

• Singer T, Klimecki OM. Empathy and compassion. Curr Biol. 2014 Sep 22;24(18):R875-R878. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.06.054.

  PMID: 25247366 RESULT

• Ruiz-Fernandez MD, Perez-Garcia E, Ortega-Galan AM. Quality of Life in Nursing Professionals: Burnout, Fatigue, and Compassion Satisfaction. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Feb 15;17(4):1253. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17041253.

  PMID: 32075252 RESULT

• Boselli E, Musellec H, Bernard F, Guillou N, Hugot P, Augris-Mathieu C, Diot-Junique N, Bouvet L, Allaouchiche B. EFFECTS OF CONVERSATIONAL HYPNOSIS ON RELATIVE PARASYMPATHETIC TONE AND PATIENT COMFORT DURING AXILLARY BRACHIAL PLEXUS BLOCKS FOR AMBULATORY UPPER LIMB SURGERY:A Quasiexperimental Pilot Study. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2018 Apr-Jun;66(2):134-146. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2018.1421355.

  PMID: 29601275 RESULT

Related Links

• Related Info

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Compassion Fatigue; Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Fatigue; Fatigue; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Occupational Stress; Stress, Psychological; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Estelle MICHINOV, PhD

  University of Rennes 2

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

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

Model Details: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Nurses (n = 42) will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions (control or Virtual Reality Hypnosis (VRH)). Each nurse will receive six 10-minute sessions of one of the techniques for 6 weeks (1 session per week).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 16, 2024
• First Posted: January 22, 2025
• Study Start: November 4, 2024
• Primary Completion: February 2, 2025
• Study Completion: February 12, 2025
• Last Updated: February 14, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

FR (1)