An interventional study of VR mindfulness in Wellness, Psychological, sponsored by University of Massachusetts, Worcester. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-17.
Sponsored by University of Massachusetts, Worcester · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
Burnout shares symptoms with anxiety and depression. While there is no single intervention for burnout, there are validated interventions (which are amenable to virtual reality (VR)) for anxiety and depression. UMassMemorial data from the Professional Well-Being Academic Consortium show that MD burnout and distress has increased since 2020. The investigators believe providing clinicians with a unique tool (VR) will be a feasible and efficacious way to tackle distress. It is known that only 1% of our MDs have done mindfulness training but nearly 50% are interested in doing so. Therefore, a self-administrable, interactive mindfulness program delivered over VR has great potential to reach clinicians who want to practice a more active form of mindfulness at a time convenient to them. The results of the study will provide preliminary evidence to determine if a take-home VR mindfulness program decreases clinician stress.
Cohorts 1 will be the intervention group Cohorts 2 will be the controls. Study endpoints include results from the following questionnaires:
The intervention is a 12-week mindfulness-based VR intervention.
Cohort 1 will complete the questionnaires 1-4 at baseline (just before the intervention). They will be sent twice weekly reminders to use the VR for the duration of the 12-week intervention. After 12 weeks Cohort 1 will retake questionnaires 1-4 and take questionnaire 5, while Cohort 2 will then take questionnaires 1-4 and be provided the VR headsets. After another 12 weeks, Cohort 1 will take questionnaires 1-4 and be done with the study, while Cohort 2 will take questionnaires 1-5. After 12 more weeks, Cohort 2 will take questionnaires 1-4 and be done with the study.
971 studies on the registry are indexed under Psychological Well-Being; 502 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 32 is below the median of 116 across 830 interventional studies indexed under Psychological Well-Being.
Browse Psychological Well-Being studies →University of Massachusetts, Worcester is the lead sponsor of 288 studies on the registry; 54 are open to participants now.
Of its 25 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 18 (72%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
The intervention group will be given the VR headset for their unrestricted use over the 12 week intervention period. The VR headset is exceptionally easy and intuitive to use. Each participant will have the choice of 20 "locations" in which to use the mindfulness-based program. Each of the 20 locations/programs are different. They range in length from 5 minutes (introductory) to 20 minutes.
Behavioral: VR mindfulness
The control arm will not have any intervention. However, at the conclusion of the study, all participants from the Control group will be given the VR intervention
VR-based mindfulness
PROMIS - anxiety
PROMIS Short Form - anxiety scale. Scores of 8-40; Higher is a worse outcome.
Time frame: at baseline, after 12 weeks, then after another 12 weeks. We will compare results of the intervention group at 12 and 24 weeks to their baseline.
PROMIS - anxiety
PROMIS Short Form - anxiety scale. Scores of 8-40; Higher is a worse outcome.
Time frame: at baseline, after 12 weeks, then after another 12 weeks. We will compare results of the control group at 12 and 24 weeks to their baseline.
PROMIS - Depression
PROMIS Short Form - Depression scale. Scores of 8-40; Higher is a worse outcome.
Time frame: at baseline, after 12 weeks, then after another 12 weeks. We will compare results of the intervention group at 12 and 24 weeks to their baseline.
PROMIS - Depression
PROMIS Short Form - Depression scale. Scores of 8-40; Higher is a worse outcome.
Time frame: at baseline, after 12 weeks, then after another 12 weeks. We will compare results of the control group at 12 and 24 weeks to their baseline.
Resiliency
Connor-Davidson Resiliency Scale. Scores of 0-40; Higher score is better.
Time frame: at baseline, after 12 weeks, then after another 12 weeks. We will compare results of the intervention group at 12 and 24 weeks to their baseline.
Resiliency
Connor-Davidson Resiliency Scale. Scores of 0-40; Higher score is better.
Time frame: at baseline, after 12 weeks, then after another 12 weeks. We will compare results of the control group at 12 and 24 weeks to their baseline.
Stress scale
Perceived Stress Score. Scores of 0-40; Higher score is worse.
Time frame: at baseline, after 12 weeks, then after another 12 weeks. We will compare results of the intervention group at 12 and 24 weeks to their baseline.
Stress scale
Perceived Stress Score. Scores of 0-40; Higher score is worse.
Time frame: at baseline, after 12 weeks, then after another 12 weeks. We will compare results of the control group at 12 and 24 weeks to their baseline.
Usability
Usability scale. Scores of 10-50; Higher score is better.
Time frame: after 12 weeks we will dertermine the usability of the VR intervention in the intervention group
Plan to share: No
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This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Massachusetts, Worcester