Flying Phobia Clinical Trial
Official title:
Efficacy of an Internet-based Treatment for Flying Phobia: A Randomized Controlled Trial
The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of a computer-aided self-help
treatment for flying phobia with or without support by the therapist, compared to a waiting
list control group.
Secondary objectives: a) to explore two ways of delivering NO-FEAR Airlines, with or without
therapist guidance and b) to study the patients' acceptability through expectations,
preferences and satisfaction towards the online program. In this work, we present the study
design.
The principal hypothesis is that the two intervention groups will improve significantly
compared to the waiting list control group.
One of the most prevalent phobias in our society is the fear of flying or flying phobia (FP).
Surveys which identify clinically significant phobias estimate point prevalence at
approximately 2.5% of the adult population. Around 10% of the general population do not fly
due to intense fear, 25% of the population that fly experience intense distress during the
flight and 20% of people depend on alcohol or tranquilizers to overcome the fear of flying.
The most effective psychological technique for the treatment of phobias is in vivo exposure.
Besides, not all patients benefit from in vivo exposure, given that an important amount of
them do not accept the intervention or drop out (around 25%) when they are informed about the
intervention procedure or they have problems to access to these therapies.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are pioneer applications that can improve
treatment adherence and acceptance. Specifically, Computerized programs boasts remarkable
advantages beyond strictly therapeutic and effectiveness-related ones in treating fear of
flying: a reduction in direct therapeutic contact time, the possibility of standardizing
treatment to the maximum, the low cost - which allows a greater extension - and, perhaps most
importantly, access to patients who would not be very willing to subject themselves to live
exposure (a real flight) with a steep exposure gradient. The application of
cognitive-behavioural procedures such as exposure through interactive computer programs is
especially recommended.
;
| Status | Clinical Trial | Phase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed |
NCT01442805 -
Use of Virtual Reality in the Treatment of Flying Phobia
|
N/A | |
| Completed |
NCT03900559 -
An Internet-based Treatment for Flying Phobia
|
N/A |