Burnout, Burnout, Healthcare Workers, Burnout, Psychological, Empathy Training of Healthcare Professional Students, Self Compassion
Conditions
Keywords
Self-Compassion, Empathy, CBT, Virtual Reality, Healthcare Provider Burnout
Brief summary
Healthcare providers in high-demand clinical settings are at high risk for burnout and secondary traumatic stress due to repeated exposure to patient trauma, which can compromise well-being and quality of care. Compassion-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CF-CBT) can reduce stress and enhance self-compassion, but traditional delivery is time- and resource-intensive. This project evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of virtual reality (VR)-enhanced CF-CBT specifically adapted for healthcare providers experiencing vicarious trauma. Grounded in Neff's self-compassion framework (emphasizing self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness) the VR intervention provides 8 immersive environments where participants can practice compassion-focused skills, engage in procedural learning, and regulate emotional responses in real time. The study will be conducted at UC San Diego Health using a two-arm randomized design comparing VR-enhanced CF-CBT with self-guided compassion-focused CBT/mindfulness exercises delivered without VR. Participants will complete 8 brief VR interventional sessions (approximately 6-10 minutes each) over 4-6 weeks. Outcomes include self-compassion, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, measured using validated instruments. Feasibility and acceptability will be evaluated through recruitment, retention, session completion, engagement, and participant feedback. Findings will provide preliminary evidence for VR-enhanced compassion-focused interventions as a scalable and accessible approach to supporting healthcare providers' emotional well-being in demanding clinical environments, and will inform future cultural adaptation and implementation in low-resource and conflict-affected healthcare settings such as those in post-war zones.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCompassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets
The intervention group will undergo a fixed number of immersive compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via virtual reality headsets.
BEHAVIORALCompassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy app based booklet
This arm will receive the same order and frequency of compassion focused cognitive behavioral therapy sessions delivered via digital booklets
Sponsors
University of California, San Diego
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* have at least one year of experience working in a healthcare setting
Exclusion criteria
* participating in other behavioral interventions that could confound study results * auditory or visual impairments that would interfere with VR usage * Participants who experience clinically significant VR-related discomfort/motion sickness as assessed by the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Self-compassion | Baseline assessment (T0), Post-Intervention assessment (T1), and 6 weeks post-intervention assessment (T2) | Self-compassion will be assessed using the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), as it reflects a core therapeutic target of the CF-CBT-based techniques |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Burnout | Baseline assessment (T0), Post-intervention assessment (T1), 6 weeks post-intervention (T2) | Burnout will be assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) |
| Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) | Baseline assessment (T0), Post-intervention assessment (T1), 6 weeks post-intervention (T2) | Vicarious (secondary) trauma will be assessed using Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) with ProQOL-STS subscale, both of which are validated tools in healthcare settings, especially for providers exposed to chronic occupational stress and trauma |
Contacts
CONTACTRawan Iriqat
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORWael Al-Delaimy, PhD, MD
University of California, San Diego
STUDY_CHAIRAndre Faro, PhD
Universidade Federal de Sergipe
Outcome results
None listed