Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36902793›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2023

Effectiveness of a Virtual-Reality-Based Self-Help Intervention for Lowering the Psychological Burden during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Iran.

Sharareh Farahimanesh, Silvia Serino, Cosimo Tuena, Daniele Di Lernia, Brenda K Wiederhold, Luca Bernardelli, Giuseppe Riva, Alireza Moradi

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Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Review
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  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Sharareh FarahimaneshInstitute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran 1983969411, Iran.
Silvia SerinoDepartment of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-8422-1358
Cosimo TuenaApplied Technology for Neuropsychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 20145 Milan, Italy.
Daniele Di LerniaHumane Technology Lab, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-6850-6866
Brenda K WiederholdVirtual Reality Medical Center, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3320-0303
Luca BernardelliBecome-Hub, 20100 Milan, Italy.
Giuseppe RivaApplied Technology for Neuropsychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 20145 Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3657-106X
Alireza MoradiInstitute for Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran 1658344575, Iran.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic. In this framework, digital self-help interventions have the potential to provide flexible and scalable solutions for delivering evidence-based treatments that do not necessitate face-to-face meetings.

objectiveas part of a multicentric project, the purpose of the current randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a Virtual-Reality-based self-help intervention (namely, COVID Feel Good) in lowering the psychological distress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.

methods60 participants were randomly assigned to the experimental (COVID Feel Good intervention group) or the control (no-treatment control group) condition. At the beginning of the intervention (Day 0), at the end of the intervention (Day 7), and after a 2-week follow-up (Day 21), measurements of depressive and anxiety levels, general distress, perceived levels of stress, hopelessness (primary outcome measures), perceived interpersonal closeness with the social world, and fear of COVID-19 (secondary outcome measure) were collected. The protocol consists of two integrated parts: the first part includes a relaxing 10-min three-hundred-sixty-degree (360°) video, while the second one includes social tasks with specified objectives.

resultsIn terms of the primary outcomes, participants in the COVID Feel Good intervention group improved in depression, stress, anxiety, and perceived stress but not hopelessness. Secondary outcome results showed an improvement in perceived social connectedness and a substantial decrease in fear of COVID-19.

conclusionsthese findings on the efficacy of COVID Feel Good training add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the feasibility of digital self-help interventions in promoting well-being during this unique period.

Indexed as

COVID-19digital therapeuticspsychological distressself-help interventionvirtual realitywell-being

Identifiers

PMID36902793
PMCPMC10004117

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.