VR Embodiment for Stress Evaluation in a Return to Work Simulation

Stress Clinical Trial

— VRSTEVAR  

Official title:

A Randomized Controlled Single Blind Parallel Study, Evaluating Embodiment in a VR Scenario Designed to Elicit Stress in a Return to Work E-vironment.

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05379764
• Other study ID #: VRSTEVAR01
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: June 2022
• Est. completion date: November 2022

Study information

• Verified date: May 2022
• Source: Clinique Saint-Jean, Bruxelles
• Contact: Arnaud Bosteels, MD
• Phone: 02 221 97 62
• Email: abosteels[@]clstjean.be
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Comparing the emotional effect of two different versions of one VR experience. The VR experience will simulate a typical return to work situation after an absence due to burnout.

The difference of the VR scenario is the point of view. In the first version, the 'standard' version, the user is looking at the VR experience from a neutral point of view, as if s/he was watching a 2D screen. In the second version, the 'embodiment' version, a VR features is added to have the user feeling incarnated in a digital human. This will enhance the feeling of being present in the virtual world and will enhance the emotional answer. The measured endpoint will be the evoked emotions, in particular stress.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 40
• Est. completion date: November 2022
• Est. primary completion date: August 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• working in the office building where the study will be conducted

Exclusion Criteria:

• neurologic disorder precluding the use of VR goggles (epilepsy, …),

• facial wounds precluding the use of VR goggles.

• a preliminary test evaluating the stress level will be conducted, DASS -21: stress levels above moderate is an exclusion criteria

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Burnout
• Burnout, Psychological
• Stress
• Virtual Reality

Intervention

Other:
• Embodiment
Embodiment of a real human in a virtual human (avatar) means that the real human feels incarnated in the avatar. This happens when the real human sees the VRscenario from first person perspective, that the real human can make the avatar move (=agency over the avatar), multi-sensorial integration (=there is a link between the brain of the real human and the avatar. Example, when the avatar sits on a chair, the real human will too and he feels that he is sitting on a chair. Or when the avatar is moving the real human is doing the same movement (and of course the brain of the real human is aware of this movement)) and co-location (= avatar and real human have the sane posture).
• Observation
The person is looking at the VR scenario as if s/he was looking at a TV

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Clinique Saint-Jean, Bruxelles	Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	measured stress level	This is measured with a Visual Analogue Scale from 1-10 and with the DASS-21, subscale stress	this will be evaluated after the intervention and will take 15 min.
Secondary	measured Emotional level	general emotional level, measured with the PANAS scale	15 min, before (baseline) and after the intervention
Secondary	measured stress baseline	This is measured with a Visual Analogue Scale from 1-10 and with the DASS-21, subscale	15min, before the intervention
Secondary	embodiment evaluation	measuring the level of embodiment experienced by the user	20 min after the intervention
Secondary	plausibility illusion and place illusion	Answering the question: is it possible that it happens and that it happens here?. Assessed together with the level of embodiment, also with a questionnaire.	20 min after intervention