Promotion of Emotional Well-being in Hospitalized Cancer Patients by Virtual Reality

A Brief Psychological Intervention Using Virtual Reality for the Promotion of Emotional Well-being in Hospitalized Cancer Patients

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03103711

Enrollment

Registered

2017-04-06

Start date

2010-07-31

Completion date

2011-12-31

Last updated

2017-04-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cancer

Keywords

Virtual reality, Well-being, Hospital

Brief summary

The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of a brief psychological intervention supported by Information and Communication Technologies, on the subjective well-being of hospitalized cancer patients. Participants are randomly assigned to one of 2 conditions: Intervention condition (4 Virtual reality sessions) and Control condition (waiting list control group).

Interventions

BEHAVIORALVirtual Reality Intervention

Participants receive two sessions oriented to joy and two focused on relax. In the first 2 sessions patients can choose the environment (Emotional Parks or Walk through Nature) and in the following ones participants visit the alternate environments.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* adults with any cancer diagnosis * hospitalized for at least 1 week * Karnofsky functional state ≥50 * life expectancy ≥2 months

Exclusion criteria

* serious psychopathology * cognitive impairment

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983; adapted version of Tejero, Guimerá, Farré & Peri, 1986)	change from baseline at 1 week
Fordyce Happiness Scale (Fordyce, 1988).	change from baseline at 1 week

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Visual Analog Scale: Emotional State. Change from pre to post session.	4 days along 1 week	Assessment of general mood, joy, sadness, anxiety, relax and vigor (7-point Likert scale)
Visual Analog Scale: Mood.	4 days along 1 week	Subjective mood change after each intervention session.
Visual Analog Scale: Physical Discomfort. Change from pre to post session.	4 days along 1 week	Presence of pain, fatigue and physical discomfort (11-point Likert scale)
Visual Analog Scale: Satisfaction with the Session Scale.	4 days along 1 week	Level of pleasantness and perceived usefulness of each session (11-point Likert scale)
Satisfaction with Intervention Scale (adapted version of Borkovec and Nau's, 1972)	1 week	Assesses satisfaction, recommendation, utility and discomfort (11-point Likert scale)

Other

Measure	Time frame	Description
Visual Analog Scale: Life satisfaction	baseline	7-point scale (no satisfaction - completely satisfied)
Visual Analog Scale: Optimism	baseline	11-point scale (not at all - completely)
The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) (Broadbent et al., 2006)	baseline	This instrument has 9 items aimed to evaluate the cognitive and emotional representation of the illness (consequences, timeline, personal control, treatment control, identity, concern, emotional response, illness coherence and causes).
Personal meaning of the illness (ad-hoc).	baseline	Patient has 6 alternatives of illness meaning (Loss, threat, challenge, blame-others, blame-self and opportunity). In addition to these alternatives, participant can add any other personal meaning.

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026