Effects of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Mental Health Outcomes and Academic Success in Physical Therapy Students

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Depression; Satisfaction; Mental Stress; Anxiety
• Interventions: Other: First Resort

• Registration Number: NCT06567496
• Lead Sponsor: Belmont University

Brief Summary

Exploring the impact of a virtual reality program, First Resort on graduate physical therapy student wellness and academic success.

Detailed Description

This study is exploring the impact of an 8-week virtual reality intervention among graduate physical therapy students. Self-report measures of anxiety, depression and stress will be collected pre/post to assess the impact of the virtual reality intervention.

Purpose:

1. Determine if there is an impact of a virtual reality intervention on symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress levels in first year physical therapy doctoral students

2. Explore correlations between performance, anxiety, depression, stress and First Resort use in first year physical therapy doctoral students

3. Explore the feasibility of use of First Resort app in first year physical therapy doctoral students

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2024-08-16
• Study First Submitted: 2024-08-16
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-08-20
• Study First Posted: 2024-08-22
• Status Verified: 2025-02
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-02-05
• Last Update Posted: 2025-02-07
• Primary Completion: 2025-05-15
• Study Completion: 2025-05-15

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 23

Inclusion Criteria

Physical Therapy students enrolled at a single university in the southern United States during the fall 2024 semester

Exclusion Criteria

Patient Health Questionnaire-8 score of 15 or more General Anxiety Disorder-7 score of 15 or more History of seizures History of motion sickness History of epilepsy History of balance impairment History of significant visual History of auditory impairment

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	First Resort	8 week First Resort virtual reality program

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Patient Health Questionnaire-8	8 weeks	Self-reported questionnaire most frequently used worldwide for the screening and severity assessment of depression. Minimum score of 0 indicating no or minimal depression and maximum of 24 which is severe depression.
General Anxiety Disorder-7	8 weeks	Self-reported questionnaire to measure or assess the severity of generalized anxiety disorder. Minimum score of 0 indicating no or minimal anxiety and maximum of 21 which is severe anxiety.
Perceived Stress Scale-10	8 weeks	Self-reported measure of global perceived stress. Minimum score of 0 indicating low perceived stress and maximum of 40 which high perceived stress.
Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8	8 weeks	Self-reported questionnaire assessing satisfaction with the intervention. Minimum score of 8 indicating low satisfaction and maximum of 32 which is very high satisfaction.
Self-reported Cumulative Grade Point Average	8 weeks	Participants self-report the overall semester grade point average. 0.0-4.0 with 0.0 indicating failure and 4.0 indicating all A's.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Patient Health Questionnaire-2	8 weeks	Self-reported questionnaire most frequently used worldwide for the screening and severity assessment of depression. Minimum score 0 indicating low likelihood depression and maximum of 6 which indicates positive screen for depression.
General Anxiety Disorder-2	8 weeks	Self-reported questionnaire to measure or assess the severity of generalized anxiety disorder. Minimum score 0 indicating low likelihood of anxiety and maximum of 6 which indicates positive screen for anxiety.
The exit survey included several questions about Life style factors	8 weeks	Participants will be asked about sleep and exercise behaviors throughout the study. They will also be asked if they had mental health support during the study, such as counseling or psychiatric care.
Qualitative feedback_Focus groups	8 weeks	Describe experience with study through open-ended questions informing discussion portion of the paper.
Descriptive categorical	8 weeks	This is descriptive and categorical data delivered through Qualtrics using single choice from multiple categorical responses. This included descriptive information about sleep, exercise habits, and other consults sought by participants.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Belmont University; 🇺🇸 Nashville, Tennessee, United States