Chronic PainNCT05310747
Can Exposure to Inclusive Virtual Art Decrease Pain and Social Disconnection Among Individuals Living With Chronic Pain?
A study testing Artwork present, Artwork absent and Social connection high in people with Chronic Pain and Social Disconnection, run by University of California, Davis at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The proposed study is an experimental intervention to test for the effects of exposure to art by means of a virtual museum visit. It examines the fundamental question of whether exposure to virtual art can alleviate pain. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Chronic Pain, Social Disconnection
- What is being tested?
- Artwork present, Artwork absent and Social connection high
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 311 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 7 Oct 2022to 6 Jan 2023
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- read and write in English language
- chronic moderate to severe pain (≥ 6 months in duration; ≥ 4 in response to the question, "on average this week my pain intensity has been?" on a 0-10 NRS)
- lonely (≥ 4 on the 3-item Loneliness Scale)
- access to an electronic device with internet connection in order to participate in the study
Who cannot join
- dementia
- adults unable to consent
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of California, Davis
Sacramento, California, 95817
About this study
The proposed study is an experimental intervention to test for the effects of exposure to art by means of a virtual museum visit. It examines the fundamental question of whether exposure to virtual art can alleviate pain. Google Arts \& Culture has digitized the collections of over 2,000 museums, art galleries, and other cultural institutions. The platform is free and allows 'visitors' to explore art from around the world. For this study, the PIs have chosen artwork from this collection and created a virtual museum gallery such that research participants will visit the museum with or without art (i.e., we will remove all art from the virtual galleries). In addition, we hypothesize that individuals primed to experience social connection prior to art exposure will experience lower perceived social disconnection and pain than those who are not primed.
Read the detailed description
Research Design: 2 (virtual artwork exposure: present, absent) x 2 (prime: social connection prime: high, low) factorial experiment with a hanging control group (4 cells plus 1 control group, for a total of 5 cells) and 2 repeated measures. A priori power analysis using G*Power showed that the required sample size for a 5-group repeated measures experiment with 2 measurement times with 1-B error probability = .80 that expected small effect with a size of d = .10 and a significance level of p = .05 was a total of 305 participants (61 participants per cell).
Eligible individuals will be offered informed consent documentation via the StudyPages platform and then will be randomized to their study group:
- Artwork present + Social connection prime high
- Artwork present + Social connection prime low
- Artwork absent + Social connection prime high
- Artwork absent + Social connection prime low
- Hanging control group - no exposure to any independent variables (i.e. artwork: present or absent; social connection prime: high or low)
Participants will fill out pre-intervention scales (pain intensity and unpleasantness; perceived social disconnection) prior to their virtual museum experience. Participants will then visit a virtual art museum gallery for 10 minutes or receive no exposure if they are in the hanging control group. In the artwork present condition, the virtual museum will feature paintings as part of an exhibition. In the artwork absent condition, paintings will be removed and thus the virtual museum will be empty. In the high social connection prime condition participants will be assigned to write an essay about a person and situation that made them feel valued, seen, and heard. In the low social connection prime condition participants will be assigned to write about a person and situation that made them feel ignored and not very valued. After 10 minutes within their condition participants will complete a post-intervention survey.
In addition, written responses to the social connection primes and museum visit data (e.g., user movement, object interaction, and perceptions about artwork in the museum) will be collected and analyzed.
- Conditions
- Chronic Pain, Social Disconnection
- Being tested
- Artwork present, Artwork absent, Social connection high, Social connection low
- Keywords
- Pain, Social Disconnection, Museum, Virtual museum
- Medical subject headings
- Chronic Pain, Pain
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Artwork presentBehavioural
A virtual museum exhibit with a curated selection of artworks
Artwork absentBehavioural
The same virtual museum exhibit space as the 'Artwork present' condition but with all of the artworks removed from the walls
Social connection highBehavioural
Participants will identify a person from their life that makes them feel socially connected and then write (1) about that person and (2) an experience they had with that person that made them feel socially connected.
Social connection lowBehavioural
Participants will identify a person from their life that makes them feel socially disconnected and then write (1) about that person and (2) an experience they had with that person that made them feel socially disconnected.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork present + social connection high | Experimental | Individuals participate in an exercise to prime a feeling of high social connection and then explore a virtual museum exhibit with artwork for 10 minutes Receives: Behavioral: Artwork present; Behavioral: Social connection high |
| Artwork present + social connection low | Experimental | Individuals participate in an exercise to prime a feeling of low social connection and then explore a virtual museum exhibit with artwork for 10 minutes Receives: Behavioral: Artwork present; Behavioral: Social connection low |
| Artwork absent + social connection high | Experimental | Individuals participate in an exercise to prime a feeling of high social connection and then explore a virtual museum exhibit with no artwork for 10 minutes Receives: Behavioral: Artwork absent; Behavioral: Social connection high |
| Artwork absent + social connection low | Active comparator | Individuals participate in an exercise to prime a feeling of low social connection and then explore a virtual museum exhibit with no artwork for 10 minutes Receives: Behavioral: Artwork absent; Behavioral: Social connection low |
| Hanging control group | No intervention | Individuals will receive no exposure to any independent variables (i.e. artwork: present or absent; social connection prime: high or low) for 10 minutes before completing their final survey. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Social disconnection
Social disconnection scale; 12 items; scored 1 (not at all) - 5 (very much); range 12-60
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Secondary outcomes (8)
Pain unpleasantness
Numerical rating scale (NRS) score of 0 "not unpleasant" - 10 "Most unpleasant sensation imaginable ("intolerable")"
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Pain intensity
Numerical rating scale (NRS) score of 0 "no pain" - 10 "worst pain imaginable"
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Change in pain during intervention
Did you experience any pain relief during the museum experience? 1=Yes/0=No
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Percent change in pain during intervention
If "Yes", what percent pain relief did you receive? 0%-100%
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Perceptions of the artwork related to the positivity of the social world
The artwork in the museum made me feel (7-point likert scale anchored by "Negative about the social world" and "Positive about the social world")
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Perceptions of the artwork related to connection to the social world
The artwork in the museum made me feel (7-point likert scale anchored by "Disconnected to the social world" and "Connected to the social world")
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Perceptions of the artwork related to inclusion in the social world
The artwork in the museum made me feel (7-point likert scale anchored by "Excluded from the social world" and "Included in the social world")
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Perceptions of the artwork related to positivity of social relationships
The artwork in the museum made me feel (7-point likert scale anchored by "Negative about my social relationships" and "Positive about my social relationships"
Measured: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 Apr 2022
- Study start7 Oct 2022
- Primary completion6 Jan 2023
- Study completion6 Jan 2023
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Chronic PainStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Model description
- Eligible individuals will be randomized to one of 4 groups: 1. Artwork present + Social connection prime high 2. Artwork present + Social connection prime low 3. Artwork absent + Social connection prime high 4. Artwork absent + Social connection prime low 5. Hanging control group - no exposure to any independent variables (i.e. artwork: present or absent; social connection prime: high or low)
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 311 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, Davis
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05310747
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1811205
- Status last verified
- Apr 2025
- First submitted
- 16 Dec 2021
- Last updated
- 23 Apr 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 23 Apr 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Can Exposure to Inclusive Virtual Art Decrease Pain and Social Disconnection Among Individuals Living With Chronic Pain?
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05310747
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 1811205
- Conditions
- Chronic Pain, Social Disconnection
- Keywords
- Pain, Social Disconnection, Museum, Virtual museum
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 311 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, DavisUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 7 Oct 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 6 Jan 2023 (actual)
- Study completion
- 6 Jan 2023 (actual)
- First posted
- 5 Apr 2022 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The proposed study is an experimental intervention to test for the effects of exposure to art by means of a virtual museum visit. It examines the fundamental question of whether exposure to virtual art can alleviate pain. Google Arts \& Culture has digitized the collections of over 2,000 museums, art galleries, and other cultural institutions. The platform is free and allows 'visitors' to explore art from around the world. For this study, the PIs have chosen artwork from this collection and created a virtual museum gallery such that research participants will visit the museum with or without art (i.e., we will remove all art from the virtual galleries). In addition, we hypothesize that individuals primed to experience social connection prior to art exposure will experience lower perceived social disconnection and pain than those who are not primed.
Detailed description
Research Design: 2 (virtual artwork exposure: present, absent) x 2 (prime: social connection prime: high, low) factorial experiment with a hanging control group (4 cells plus 1 control group, for a total of 5 cells) and 2 repeated measures. A priori power analysis using G*Power showed that the required sample size for a 5-group repeated measures experiment with 2 measurement times with 1-B error probability = .80 that expected small effect with a size of d = .10 and a significance level of p = .05 was a total of 305 participants (61 participants per cell).
Eligible individuals will be offered informed consent documentation via the StudyPages platform and then will be randomized to their study group:
- Artwork present + Social connection prime high
- Artwork present + Social connection prime low
- Artwork absent + Social connection prime high
- Artwork absent + Social connection prime low
- Hanging control group - no exposure to any independent variables (i.e. artwork: present or absent; social connection prime: high or low)
Participants will fill out pre-intervention scales (pain intensity and unpleasantness; perceived social disconnection) prior to their virtual museum experience. Participants will then visit a virtual art museum gallery for 10 minutes or receive no exposure if they are in the hanging control group. In the artwork present condition, the virtual museum will feature paintings as part of an exhibition. In the artwork absent condition, paintings will be removed and thus the virtual museum will be empty. In the high social connection prime condition participants will be assigned to write an essay about a person and situation that made them feel valued, seen, and heard. In the low social connection prime condition participants will be assigned to write about a person and situation that made them feel ignored and not very valued. After 10 minutes within their condition participants will complete a post-intervention survey.
In addition, written responses to the social connection primes and museum visit data (e.g., user movement, object interaction, and perceptions about artwork in the museum) will be collected and analyzed.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Triple blind (participant, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 5
- Model description
- Eligible individuals will be randomized to one of 4 groups: 1. Artwork present + Social connection prime high 2. Artwork present + Social connection prime low 3. Artwork absent + Social connection prime high 4. Artwork absent + Social connection prime low 5. Hanging control group - no exposure to any independent variables (i.e. artwork: present or absent; social connection prime: high or low)
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork present + social connection high | Experimental | Behavioral: Artwork present, Behavioral: Social connection highIndividuals participate in an exercise to prime a feeling of high social connection and then explore a virtual museum exhibit with artwork for 10 minutes |
| Artwork present + social connection low | Experimental | Behavioral: Artwork present, Behavioral: Social connection lowIndividuals participate in an exercise to prime a feeling of low social connection and then explore a virtual museum exhibit with artwork for 10 minutes |
| Artwork absent + social connection high | Experimental | Behavioral: Artwork absent, Behavioral: Social connection highIndividuals participate in an exercise to prime a feeling of high social connection and then explore a virtual museum exhibit with no artwork for 10 minutes |
| Artwork absent + social connection low | Active comparator | Behavioral: Artwork absent, Behavioral: Social connection lowIndividuals participate in an exercise to prime a feeling of low social connection and then explore a virtual museum exhibit with no artwork for 10 minutes |
| Hanging control group | No intervention | –Individuals will receive no exposure to any independent variables (i.e. artwork: present or absent; social connection prime: high or low) for 10 minutes before completing their final survey. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- read and write in English language
- chronic moderate to severe pain (≥ 6 months in duration; ≥ 4 in response to the question, "on average this week my pain intensity has been?" on a 0-10 NRS)
- lonely (≥ 4 on the 3-item Loneliness Scale)
- access to an electronic device with internet connection in order to participate in the study
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- dementia
- adults unable to consent
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork presentA virtual museum exhibit with a curated selection of artworks | Behavioural | Artwork present + social connection high, Artwork present + social connection low |
| Artwork absentThe same virtual museum exhibit space as the 'Artwork present' condition but with all of the artworks removed from the walls | Behavioural | Artwork absent + social connection high, Artwork absent + social connection low |
| Social connection highParticipants will identify a person from their life that makes them feel socially connected and then write (1) about that person and (2) an experience they had with that person that made them feel socially connected. | Behavioural | Artwork absent + social connection high, Artwork present + social connection high |
| Social connection lowParticipants will identify a person from their life that makes them feel socially disconnected and then write (1) about that person and (2) an experience they had with that person that made them feel socially disconnected. | Behavioural | Artwork absent + social connection low, Artwork present + social connection low |
Primary outcome
Social disconnection
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Social disconnection scale; 12 items; scored 1 (not at all) - 5 (very much); range 12-60
8 secondary outcomes
Pain unpleasantness
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Pain intensity
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Change in pain during intervention
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Percent change in pain during intervention
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Perceptions of the artwork related to the positivity of the social world
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Perceptions of the artwork related to connection to the social world
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Perceptions of the artwork related to inclusion in the social world
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Perceptions of the artwork related to positivity of social relationships
Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 23 Apr 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Artwork present, Artwork absent and Social connection high in people with Chronic Pain and Social Disconnection, run by University of California, Davis at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 23 Apr 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Social disconnection (time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 23 Apr 2025.