Promoting the Psychological Health of Women With SCI: A Virtual World Intervention (Zest)

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Spinal Cord Injuries

Treatments: Behavioral: Zest

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT03543111

HSC-MS-17-0474

H133G080042-10 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this project is to test the efficacy of an internet-based psychological health enhancement program for women with spinal cord injury. The intervention will occur in Second Life (SL), which is an online virtual word simulator with a group of women with spinal cord injury.

Enrollment: 175 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• have a traumatic spinal cord injury
• be at least one year post injury
• be able to speak and read English (to participate in the group intervention and complete study questionnaires in English).
• have access to a phone, an email account, and a computer and high-speed Internet connection that meets minimum SL computing requirements.

Exclusion criteria

• have a cognitive impairment that significantly limits their ability to give informed consent, participate in the intervention, or complete study assessments as determined by an inability to correctly answer questions on a comprehension of consent questionnaire
• have a significant visual or hearing impairment that would prohibit their ability to participate in the virtual intervention
• report active suicidality
• live in institutions. Individuals living in community-based group and adult foster homes will be invited to participate.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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175 participants in 2 patient groups

Zest

Experimental group

Description:

Zest is an internet-based psychological health enhancement program for women with spinal cord injury. The intervention will occur in Second Life (SL), which is an online virtual word simulator with a group of women with spinal cord injury.The Zest program will consist of 10 weekly 2-hour group sessions with approximately 8 women using avatars to represent themselves.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Zest

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

No intervention - Control participants are provided intervention materials at the end of the study.