Impact of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Stigma, Empathy, and Attitudes Toward Patients With Psychotic Disorders Among Mental Health Care Professionals: Randomized Controlled Trial
BackgroundPrevious studies have found that psychotic disorders are among the most stigmatized mental disorders. Of note, virtual reality (VR) interventions have been associated with improvements in attitudes and empathy and reduced stigma toward individuals with psychotic dis...
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| Format: | Article |
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JMIR Publications
2025-01-01
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| Series: | JMIR Mental Health |
| Online Access: | https://mental.jmir.org/2025/1/e66925 |
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| author | Jing Ling Tay Yuanrong Qu Lucas Lim Rohan Puthran Chye Lee Robert Tan Rajkirren Rajendran Ker Chiah Wei Huiting Xie Kang Sim |
| author_facet | Jing Ling Tay Yuanrong Qu Lucas Lim Rohan Puthran Chye Lee Robert Tan Rajkirren Rajendran Ker Chiah Wei Huiting Xie Kang Sim |
| author_sort | Jing Ling Tay |
| collection | DOAJ |
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BackgroundPrevious studies have found that psychotic disorders are among the most stigmatized mental disorders. Of note, virtual reality (VR) interventions have been associated with improvements in attitudes and empathy and reduced stigma toward individuals with psychotic disorders, especially among undergraduates, but this has not been examined among mental health care professionals.
ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed VR intervention for mental health care professionals to improve attitudes and empathy and reduce stigma toward people with psychotic disorders.
MethodsWe conducted a randomized controlled trial and recruited eligible mental health care professionals from a tertiary mental health care institution. Both arms (VR intervention and VR control groups) were evaluated at baseline, postintervention, and 1-month follow up. The evaluation included outcomes related to attitudes (modified attitudes toward people with schizophrenia scale), stigma (social distance scale, personal stigma scale), and empathy (empathetic concern subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index). The experience with the VR intervention was assessed using a user satisfaction questionnaire, and qualitative feedback was gathered.
ResultsOverall, 180 mental health care professionals participated and completed the study. Both groups showed improvements in attitude, social distance, and stigma scores but not the empathy score following the intervention. The VR intervention group had better user satisfaction than the VR control group. In addition, certain outcome measures were positively associated with specific factors including female gender, higher education level, certain job roles, years of work, and presence of loved ones with a mental disorder.
ConclusionsBoth the intervention and control VR groups of mental health care professionals showed improvements in attitudes, stigma, and social distance toward people with psychotic disorders. Future longitudinal studies may want to evaluate the impact of VR on caregivers and the public on these same and other outcome measures to reduce stigma and improve empathy toward individuals with psychotic disorders.
Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov NCT05982548; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05982548 |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c56450f269b84e7594d8564183efbbcf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2368-7959 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-c56450f269b84e7594d8564183efbbcf2025-01-21T21:30:50ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Mental Health2368-79592025-01-0112e6692510.2196/66925Impact of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Stigma, Empathy, and Attitudes Toward Patients With Psychotic Disorders Among Mental Health Care Professionals: Randomized Controlled TrialJing Ling Tayhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9050-6520Yuanrong Quhttps://orcid.org/0009-0001-6698-5274Lucas Limhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0666-1603Rohan Puthranhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1079-0256Chye Lee Robert Tanhttps://orcid.org/0009-0009-1520-8393Rajkirren Rajendranhttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-8850-4884Ker Chiah Weihttps://orcid.org/0009-0006-5902-659XHuiting Xiehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5812-8299Kang Simhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3209-9626 BackgroundPrevious studies have found that psychotic disorders are among the most stigmatized mental disorders. Of note, virtual reality (VR) interventions have been associated with improvements in attitudes and empathy and reduced stigma toward individuals with psychotic disorders, especially among undergraduates, but this has not been examined among mental health care professionals. ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed VR intervention for mental health care professionals to improve attitudes and empathy and reduce stigma toward people with psychotic disorders. MethodsWe conducted a randomized controlled trial and recruited eligible mental health care professionals from a tertiary mental health care institution. Both arms (VR intervention and VR control groups) were evaluated at baseline, postintervention, and 1-month follow up. The evaluation included outcomes related to attitudes (modified attitudes toward people with schizophrenia scale), stigma (social distance scale, personal stigma scale), and empathy (empathetic concern subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index). The experience with the VR intervention was assessed using a user satisfaction questionnaire, and qualitative feedback was gathered. ResultsOverall, 180 mental health care professionals participated and completed the study. Both groups showed improvements in attitude, social distance, and stigma scores but not the empathy score following the intervention. The VR intervention group had better user satisfaction than the VR control group. In addition, certain outcome measures were positively associated with specific factors including female gender, higher education level, certain job roles, years of work, and presence of loved ones with a mental disorder. ConclusionsBoth the intervention and control VR groups of mental health care professionals showed improvements in attitudes, stigma, and social distance toward people with psychotic disorders. Future longitudinal studies may want to evaluate the impact of VR on caregivers and the public on these same and other outcome measures to reduce stigma and improve empathy toward individuals with psychotic disorders. Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov NCT05982548; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05982548https://mental.jmir.org/2025/1/e66925 |
| spellingShingle | Jing Ling Tay Yuanrong Qu Lucas Lim Rohan Puthran Chye Lee Robert Tan Rajkirren Rajendran Ker Chiah Wei Huiting Xie Kang Sim Impact of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Stigma, Empathy, and Attitudes Toward Patients With Psychotic Disorders Among Mental Health Care Professionals: Randomized Controlled Trial JMIR Mental Health |
| title | Impact of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Stigma, Empathy, and Attitudes Toward Patients With Psychotic Disorders Among Mental Health Care Professionals: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_full | Impact of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Stigma, Empathy, and Attitudes Toward Patients With Psychotic Disorders Among Mental Health Care Professionals: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_fullStr | Impact of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Stigma, Empathy, and Attitudes Toward Patients With Psychotic Disorders Among Mental Health Care Professionals: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Stigma, Empathy, and Attitudes Toward Patients With Psychotic Disorders Among Mental Health Care Professionals: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_short | Impact of a Virtual Reality Intervention on Stigma, Empathy, and Attitudes Toward Patients With Psychotic Disorders Among Mental Health Care Professionals: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_sort | impact of a virtual reality intervention on stigma empathy and attitudes toward patients with psychotic disorders among mental health care professionals randomized controlled trial |
| url | https://mental.jmir.org/2025/1/e66925 |
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