scholarly journals Testing the Effects of a Virtual Reality Game for Aggressive Impulse Management: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial among Forensic Psychiatric Outpatients

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1484
Author(s):  
Danique Smeijers ◽  
Erik H. Bulten ◽  
Robbert-Jan Verkes ◽  
Sander L. Koole

Prior laboratory experiments among healthy samples found that training avoidance movements to angry faces may lower anger and aggression, especially people high in trait anger. To enrich this training and make it more suitable for clinical applications, the present researchers developed it into a Virtual Reality Game for Aggressive Impulse Management (VR-GAIME). The current study examined the effects of this training in a randomized controlled trial among forensic psychiatric outpatients with aggression regulation problems (N = 30). In addition to the aggression replacement training, patients played either the VR-GAIME or a control game. Aggressive behavior was measured pre-, half-way, and post-treatment via self-report and clinicians ratings. No difference was found between the VR-GAIME and the control game. However, the participants reported gaining more insight into their own behavior and that of others. Future VR intervention tools in clinical settings may capitalize more on their benefits for self-reflection within interpersonal settings.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Georgescu ◽  
Anca Dobrean ◽  
Cristina Alina Silaghi ◽  
Horațiu Silaghi

Abstract Background: Pain after surgery is normal, and treatments, including both pharmacological and psychological components, are fundamental for proper postoperative care. While several trials have investigated the analgesic effect of traditional non-pharmacological treatments, such as Cognitive Behaviors Therapies, the newer ways of delivering psychological interventions for pain after surgery are scarcely investigated. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to determine if delivering the psychological content through Virtual Reality (VR) along with the standard pharmacological treatment return better pain relief outcomes than standard care in adult patients following surgery. Methods: This is a protocol of a parallel RCT conducted in one community hospital. In order to test the efficacy of VR environments for reducing pain intensity, in the following day after surgery, adults (18 to 65 years) will be randomly assigned to either (1) standard treatment after surgery (control group) or (2) VR based intervention along with standard treatment. It is intended that a minimum of 30 patients be recruited in each group. For estimating the intensity of pain, both self-report and physiological measures will be used. Repeated measures of pain outcomes will be taken before and after the intervention. Moreover, for allowing an in-depth investigation of the effect of VR environments, the primary outcome will be complemented with measures of the adverse effects, level of immersion, and level of presence in the VR environment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Georgescu ◽  
Anca Dobrean ◽  
Cristina Alina Silaghi ◽  
Horațiu Silaghi

Abstract Background: Pain after surgery is normal, and treatments, including both pharmacological and psychological components, are fundamental for proper postoperative care. While several trials have investigated the analgesic effect of traditional non-pharmacological treatments, such as Cognitive Behaviors Therapies, the newer ways of delivering psychological interventions for pain after surgery are scarcely investigated. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to determine if delivering the psychological content through Virtual Reality (VR) along with the standard pharmacological treatment return better pain relief outcomes than standard care in adult patients following surgery. Methods: This is a protocol of a parallel RCT conducted in one community hospital. In order to test the efficacy of VR environments for reducing pain intensity, in the following day after surgery, adults (18 to 65 years) will be randomly assigned to either (1) standard treatment after surgery (control group) or (2) VR based intervention along with standard treatment. It is intended that a minimum of 30 patients be recruited in each group. For estimating the intensity of pain, both self-report and physiological measures will be used. Repeated measures of pain outcomes will be taken before and after the intervention. Moreover, for allowing an in-depth investigation of the effect of VR environments, the primary outcome will be complemented with measures of the adverse effects, level of immersion, and level of presence in the VR environment. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03776344. Registered on December 14, 2018.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Georgescu ◽  
Anca Dobrean ◽  
Cristina Alina Silaghi ◽  
Horațiu Silaghi

Abstract Background: Pain after surgery is normal, and treatments, including both pharmacological and psychological components, are fundamental for a proper postoperative care. While several trials have investigated the analgesia analgesic effect of traditional non-pharmacological treatments, such as Cognitive Behaviors Therapies, the newer ways of delivering psychological interventions for pain after surgery are scarcely investigated. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to determine if delivering the psychological content through Virtual Reality (VR) along with the standard pharmacological treatment return better pain relief outcomes than standard care in adults patients following surgery. Methods: This is a protocol of a parallel RCT conducted in one community hospital. In order to test the efficacy of VR environments for reducing pain intensity, in the following day after surgery, adults (18 to 65 years) will be randomly assigned to either (1) standard treatment after surgery (control group) or (2) VR based intervention along with standard treatment. It is intended that a minimum of 27 patients be recruited in each group. For estimating the intensity of pain, both self-report and physiological measures will be used. Repeated measures of pain outcomes will be taken before and after the intervention. Moreover, for allowing an in-depth investigation on of the effect of VR environments, the primary outcome will be complemented with measures of the adverse effects, level of immersion, and level of presence in the VR environment. Keywords: pain; postsurgical pain; virtual reality; psychological interventions; VR-based interventions; Trial registration status: ClinicalTrials, NCT03776344 . Retrospectively registered in December 14, 2018, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03776344 .


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Georgescu ◽  
Anca Dobrean ◽  
Cristina Alina Silaghi ◽  
Horațiu Silaghi

Abstract Background: Pain after surgery is normal, and treatments, including both pharmacological and psychological components, are fundamental for a proper postoperative care. While several trials have investigated the analgesia effect of traditional non-pharmacological treatments, such Cognitive Behaviors Therapies for pain after surgery, the newer ways of delivering psychological interventions are paucity investigated. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to determine if delivering the psychological content through Virtual Reality (VR) along with the standard pharmacological treatment return better pain outcomes then standard care in adults patients following surgery. Methods: This is a protocol of a parallel RCT conducted in one community hospital. In the following day after surgery, adults (18 to 65 years) will be randomly assigned to either (1) standard treatment after surgery (control group) or (2) VR based intervention along with standard treatment. A minimum of 27 patients is intended to be recruited in each group. For estimating the intensity of pain, both self-report and physiological measures will be used. Repeated measures of pain outcomes will be taken before and after the intervention. Moreover, for allowing in-depth investigation on the effect of VR environments, the estimates of pain intensity will be complemented with measures of the adverse effects, level of immersion, and level of presence in the VR environment. Discussion: It has already been established that VR can improve the outcomes of pain treatment at burn patients. Successful implementation in post-operative settings has the potential to change the recovery trajectory of individuals with surgical interventions. However, the best mode of implementation in terms of efficacy, acceptability, and side effects is still unclear. The present trial will provide guidance for pain interventions to be implemented on large scale and will provide scientific support in discussing treatment options for individual patients. Trial registration status: ClinicalTrials, NCT03776344. Retrospectively registered in December 14, 2018, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03776344.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 2258
Author(s):  
Stéphanie Klein Tuente ◽  
Stefan Bogaerts ◽  
Erik Bulten ◽  
Marije Keulen-de Vos ◽  
Maarten Vos ◽  
...  

Many forensic psychiatric inpatients have difficulties regulating aggressive behavior. Evidence of effective aggression treatments is limited. We designed and investigated the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic application of a virtual reality aggression prevention training (VRAPT). In this randomized controlled trial at four Dutch forensic psychiatric centers, 128 inpatients with aggressive behavior were randomly assigned to VRAPT (N = 64) or waiting list control group (N = 64). VRAPT consisted of 16 one-hour individual treatment sessions twice a week. Assessments were done at baseline, post-treatment and at 3-month follow-up. Primary outcome measures were aggressive behavior observed by staff and self-reported aggressive behavior. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial was registered in the Dutch Trial Register (NTR, TC = 6340). Participants were included between 1 March 2017, and 31 December 2018. Compared to waiting list, VRAPT did not significantly decrease in self-reported or observed aggressive behavior (primary outcomes). Hostility, anger control, and non-planning impulsiveness improved significantly in the VRAPT group compared to the control group at post-treatment. Improvements were not maintained at 3-month follow-up. Results suggest that VRAPT does not decrease aggressive behavior in forensic inpatients. However, there are indications that VRAPT temporarily influences anger control skills, impulsivity and hostility.


Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Diana Georgescu ◽  
Anca Dobrean ◽  
Cristina Alina Silaghi ◽  
Horatiu Silaghi

Abstract Background Pain after surgery is normal, and treatments, including both pharmacological and psychological components, are fundamental for proper postoperative care. While several trials have investigated the analgesic effect of traditional non-pharmacological treatments, such as cognitive behavior therapies, the newer ways of delivering psychological interventions for pain after surgery are scarcely investigated. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to determine if delivering the psychological content through virtual reality (VR) along with the standard pharmacological treatment return better pain relief outcomes than standard care in adult patients following surgery. Methods This is a protocol of a parallel RCT conducted in one community hospital. In order to test the efficacy of VR environments for reducing pain intensity, in the following day after surgery, adults (18 to 65 years) will be randomly assigned to either (1) standard treatment after surgery (control group) or (2) VR based intervention along with standard treatment. It is intended that a minimum of 30 patients be recruited in each group. For estimating the intensity of pain, both self-report and physiological measures will be used. Repeated measures of pain outcomes will be taken before and after the intervention. Moreover, for allowing an in-depth investigation of the effect of VR environments, the primary outcome will be complemented with measures of the adverse effects, level of immersion, and level of presence in the VR environment.


Author(s):  
Jorge Oliveira ◽  
Pedro Gamito ◽  
Teresa Souto ◽  
Rita Conde ◽  
Maria Ferreira ◽  
...  

The use of ecologically oriented approaches with virtual reality (VR) depicting instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is a promising approach for interventions on acquired brain injuries. However, the results of such an approach on dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are still lacking. This research reports on a pilot randomized controlled trial that aimed to explore the effect of a cognitive stimulation reproducing several IADL in VR on people with mild-to-moderate dementia caused by AD. Patients were recruited from residential care homes of Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora (SCMA), which is a relevant nonprofit social and healthcare provider in Portugal. This intervention lasted two months, with a total of 10 sessions (two sessions/week). A neuropsychological assessment was carried out at the baseline and follow-up using established neuropsychological instruments for assessing memory, attention, and executive functions. The sample consisted of 17 patients of both genders randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The preliminary results suggested an improvement in overall cognitive function in the experimental group, with an effect size corresponding to a large effect in global cognition, which suggests that this approach is effective for neurocognitive stimulation in older adults with dementia, contributing to maintaining cognitive function in AD.


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