TY - JOUR AU - Marks, Asher AU - Garbatini, Amanda AU - Hieftje, Kimberly AU - Puthenpura, Vidya AU - Weser, Veronica AU - Fernandes, Claudia-Santi F PY - 2023 DA - 2023/11/9 TI - Use of Immersive Virtual Reality Spaces to Engage Adolescent and Young Adult Patients With Cancer in Therapist-Guided Support Groups: Protocol for a Pre-Post Study JO - JMIR Res Protoc SP - e48761 VL - 12 KW - cancer KW - virtual reality KW - support groups KW - peer support KW - adolescent KW - young adult KW - resilience KW - adolescents and young adults KW - oncology KW - therapist-guided support KW - social isolation KW - support system KW - psychosocial support KW - barrier KW - quality of life AB - Background: For adolescents and young adults, a cancer diagnoses can magnify feelings of social isolation at an inherently vulnerable developmental stage. Prior studies have highlighted the importance of peer groups during cancer treatment. Support groups help foster connection and resilience, but patients find in-person participation difficult due to a variety of factors. Additionally, physical changes brought on by cancer makes these patients hesitant to meet in person. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified these difficulties. Virtual reality (VR) allows for the creation of a therapist-curated, computer-generated social space that potentially enables support groups for this population. Objective: This protocol describes a pilot study examining the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of a social VR support group intervention for adolescent and young adult patients with cancer. Methods: We approached 20 participants aged 17-20 years, and 16 agreed to participate. Moreover, 1 participant dropped out due to hospitalization. Participants attended virtual, professionally facilitated support groups using Meta Quest VR headsets. The groups consisted of 4 participants and 1 facilitator, amounting to a total of 22 individual sessions. Each session lasted 45-60 minutes and took place weekly for 4-6 weeks. The primary aim of this study was to collect quantitative and qualitative data on the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Feasibility was measured through session participation rates and overall retention rates. The acceptability of the intervention was explored through brief in-person interviews with participants at the end of the final intervention session. The secondary aim of this study was to collect data on the preliminary efficacy of the intervention in decreasing symptoms of participant depression and anxiety and increasing positive affect and resiliency. Results: In total, 15 patients aged 17-20 years participated in 22 sessions between November 5, 2019, and July 8, 2021. The median age was 19 (IQR 17-20) years. Overall, 10 (62%) participants identified as male, 5 (31%) as female, and 1 (6%) as transgender female. Furthermore, 5 (31%) participants identified as Hispanic, 1 (6%) identified as non-Hispanic Asian, 3 (19%) identified as non-Hispanic Black, 6 (38%) identified as non-Hispanic White, and 1 (6%) identified as other race or ethnicity. Hematologic malignancies or bone marrow failure was the most common diagnosis (8/16, 50%). The mean attendance rate was 72.8% (SD 25.7%) and retention was 86.7% (SD 0.35%). Moreover, 45% (10/22) of sessions had to be postponed by a week or more due to unexpected participant scheduling issues. Conclusions: The use of VR to deliver psychosocial support for adolescents and young adults with cancer may reduce common barriers associated with attending in-person peer support groups while improving quality-of-life measures. The data from this study will inform future studies focused on conducting VR support groups in other rare disease populations, including older adults with cancer. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/48761 SN - 1929-0748 UR - https://www.researchprotocols.org/2023/1/e48761 UR - https://doi.org/10.2196/48761 UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37943596 DO - 10.2196/48761 ID - info:doi/10.2196/48761 ER -