Virtual Reality to Combat Weight-Based Implicit Bias: BWH Pilot Study

Part of paid clinical trials in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sponsor
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Study ID
NCT07283523
Status
Enrolling By Invitation

Conditions

  • Implicit Association Test
  • Implicit Bias

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • 360 Video on a Virtual Reality Headset — BEHAVIORAL
    Two 360- videos watched via a VR headset where the study subject will witness a positive physician encounter with a compliant obese patient and a negative encounter with a non-compliant non-obese patient
  • 360-Control Video — BEHAVIORAL
    A neutral education video from the New England Journal of Medicine watched in a 360-theatre setting via a VR headset

Study Details

The goal of this pilot implementation study is to evaluate the impact of a virtual reality (VR) intervention on implicit bias for resident physicians. The main question it aims to answer are: Does watching VR experience of two clinical encounters reduce implicit bias association test scores? Is the VR experience an acceptable intervention tool for reducing implicit bias? Researchers will compare weight-based VR experiences consisting of two observed clinical encounters to a neutral education VR encounter to see if our intervention significantly impacts implicit bias association scores. Participants will be asked 1. Complete Implicit Association test for weight-based bias pre-intervention and post-intervention (immediately, at one week, and one month after the intervention) to assess their implicit bias 2. Watch either experimental clinical encounter videos or neutral education video using a VR headset 3. Participants will also complete an abbreviated IAT related to views on compliance

Key Dates

Start date
Nov 19, 2024
Status verified
Dec 2025
Primary completion
Nov 30, 2026
Completion
Dec 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
52 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Arms

  • Experimental: Clinical Encounters VR Videos
  • Other: Control Neutral VR Video

Primary Outcome Measure

Implicit Association Test [ Time Frame: From enrollment to one-month post-intervention ]

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Brigham and Women's HospitalBostonMassachusetts02115-

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By research site
Brigham and Women's Hospital· Boston, MA

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