AzTrials
AzTrials

PsychologicalNCT05725395

Virtual Reality as a Intrinsic Motivation Intervention

A study testing Virtual Reality in people with Psychological, run by Thomas Caruso at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

The goal is to explore the use of Virtual Reality (VR) as an intervention to increase intrinsic motivation in a healthcare setting. The investigators would like to determine if an educational VR intervention in the course of healthcare could increase pediatric patient intrinsic motivation compared to standard of care… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 5 to 25 years
Conditions the study is for
Psychological
What is being tested?
Virtual Reality
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
158 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
20 Jun 2023to 30 Jan 2025
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 5 to 25 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Patients' age range from 5 to 25 at LPCH/SHC facilities
  • patient who speak english only

Who cannot join

  • Participants who do not consent
  • Have a history of seizure disorder
  • Currently have nausea
  • Have motion sickness
  • Are clinically unstable
  • Currently using corrective glasses (not compatible with VR headset)
  • Currently pregnant
  • non-English speakers

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site

  • Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford

    Palo Alto, California, 94304

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Virtual Reality Education for Hospitalized Pediatric Patients Improves Intrinsic Motivation: A Prospective Crossover Study

The goal is to explore the use of Virtual Reality (VR) as an intervention to increase intrinsic motivation in a healthcare setting. The investigators would like to determine if an educational VR intervention in the course of healthcare could increase pediatric patient intrinsic motivation compared to standard of care (i.e no VR).

Read the detailed description

While virtual reality has gained momentum as a therapeutic supplement to distract from pain perception and to reduce anxiety, it has received less attention as an intervention to promote more holistic psychological intrinsic motivation in the course of in-patient care. Child and adolescent self-reported measures of intrinsic motivation have also been looked over in favor of parent or practitioner measures of a child's intrinsic motivation.

To evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality on child and adolescent intrinsic motivation while undergoing hospital care, the investigators will determine the effect of virtual reality to 1) increase pediatric patient intrinsic motivation compared to standard of care using educational virtual reality, 2) establish a comprehensive profile of short-term psychological well-being in school-aged children and adolescents following admission to a hospital. Participants will serve as their own control to either receive intervention on the first day or second day of the in-patient care and no intervention will be given on the other day.

Conditions
Psychological
Being tested
Virtual Reality, Standard of Care
Keywords
Virtual Reality

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Virtual RealityBehavioural

    During in-patient care participants will be randomized to receive or not receive the educational virtual reality intervention on the first day. After two days, participants will receive a total of 10 minutes interventional in the morning (between 8am to 12pm) every day until their in-patient care concludes.

  • Standard of CareBehavioural

    For case control, participants will service as their self control and be randomized to receive no virtual reality intervention on either the first day or the second day of in-patient care.

Study groups in NCT05725395
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Virtual Reality then Standard of CareExperimentalParticipants will be randomized to receive the virtual reality intervention on the first day and receive standard of care on the second day of in-patient care.
Receives: Behavioral: Virtual Reality; Behavioral: Standard of Care
Standard of Care then Virtual RealityExperimentalParticipants will be randomized to receive the standard of care on the first day and receive virtual reality intervention on the second day of in-patient care.
Receives: Behavioral: Virtual Reality; Behavioral: Standard of Care

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change in the intrinsic motivation

    Measured with six items from the modified Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) - Interest/Enjoyment Subscale. The perceived interest/enjoyment is scored on scale ranging from 1 (Not at all true) to 7 (very true)

    Measured: Day 1(baseline), Day 2

Secondary outcomes (5)

  1. Change in current mental well being as measured by the modified WHO (Five) Well-Being Index

    The modified WHO (Five) Well-Being Index is a participant-reported outcome measure that assesses current mental well being. Questionnaire contains 5 questions . Scores range from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating the corresponding feeling exists all the time.

    Measured: Day 1(baseline), Day 2

  2. Change in the self-esteem (child)

    Measured with five items from the modified Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (child). The self-esteem is scored on scale ranging from 1 (very true) to 4 (Definitely not true)

    Measured: Day 1(baseline), Day 2

  3. Change in the self-esteem (Adolescent)

    Measured with five items from the modified Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Adolescent). The self-esteem is scored on scale ranging from 1 (Strongly agree) to 4 (Strongly disagree)

    Measured: Day 1(baseline), Day 2

  4. Change in the caregiver perception of the educational experience of the patient

    Measured with seven items from a modified Educational Experience Parental Survey Scale. The caregiver perception of the educational experience of the patient is scored on scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree)

    Measured: Day 1(baseline), Day 2

  5. Change in educational self efficacy

    Measured with six items from the modified New General Self-Efficacy Scale. The educational self efficacy is scored on scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)

    Measured: Day 1(baseline), Day 2

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted13 Feb 2023
  2. Study start20 Jun 2023
  3. Primary completion30 Jan 2025
  4. Study completion30 Jan 2025

Resources

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
Other
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
158 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05725395
Sponsor's protocol ID
68166
Status last verified
Oct 2025
First submitted
22 Nov 2022
Last updated
4 Nov 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen RJ, Griffin S. The Satisfaction With Life Scale. J Pers Assess. 1985 Feb;49(1):71-5. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13.

    PubMed 16367493

  • Kern ML, Benson L, Steinberg EA, Steinberg L. The EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-Being. Psychol Assess. 2016 May;28(5):586-97. doi: 10.1037/pas0000201. Epub 2015 Aug 24.

    PubMed 26302102

  • Smith BW, Dalen J, Wiggins K, Tooley E, Christopher P, Bernard J. The brief resilience scale: assessing the ability to bounce back. Int J Behav Med. 2008;15(3):194-200. doi: 10.1080/10705500802222972.

    PubMed 18696313

  • Duckworth AL, Peterson C, Matthews MD, Kelly DR. Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2007 Jun;92(6):1087-101. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087.

    PubMed 17547490

  • Duckworth AL, Quinn PD. Development and validation of the short grit scale (grit-s). J Pers Assess. 2009 Mar;91(2):166-74. doi: 10.1080/00223890802634290.

    PubMed 19205937

  • Rosenberg M. [Consciousness from the viewpoint of electrophysics]. Psychiatr Neurol Med Psychol (Leipz). 1965 Nov;17(11):408-10. No abstract available. German.

    PubMed 5884740

  • Lachman ME, Weaver SL. The sense of control as a moderator of social class differences in health and well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1998 Mar;74(3):763-73. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.74.3.763.

    PubMed 9523418

  • Kallem S, Carroll-Scott A, Rosenthal L, Chen E, Peters SM, McCaslin C, Ickovics JR. Shift-and-persist: a protective factor for elevated BMI among low-socioeconomic-status children. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Sep;21(9):1759-63. doi: 10.1002/oby.20195. Epub 2013 May 13.

    PubMed 23671041

  • Collins F, Moya E, Rojas-Pino MS, Zuniga-Hernandez M, Arshad F, Feng R, Wang EY, Rodriguez ST, Jackson C, Caruso TJ. Virtual Reality Education for Hospitalized Pediatric Patients Improves Intrinsic Motivation: A Prospective, Randomized Crossover Study. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2026 Jun 28:99228261460362. doi: 10.1177/00099228261460362. Online ahead of print.

    PubMed 42366651

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Virtual Reality in people with Psychological, run by Thomas Caruso 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 2 inclusion and 8 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 4 Nov 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?

Change in the intrinsic motivation (time frame: Day 1(baseline), Day 2). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05725395, which also lists 9 linked publications.

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 4 Nov 2025.

AzTrials uses cookies for analytics and advertising. You can accept or reject them; the site works either way. Privacy Policy.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in