Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a mindfulness-based program with VR-based exposures for anxiety disorders

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K03470
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 10030:Clinical psychology-related
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: ninomiya akira 慶應義塾大学, 医学部(信濃町), 助教 (30464845)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: マインドフルネス認知療法 / VR / 無作為化比較試験

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Program development: The MBCT program was modified for anxiety and VR content was created as a step of exposure to the anxiety target. The program and VR content were modified after confirming feasibility through a single-arm Pilot study.
Exploratory RCT: A total of 8 sessions of the MBCT program were administered to 7 intervention group and 7 control group , with an additional 3 sessions of exposure to VR content for the intervention group only. No feasibility issues were indicated.(inclusion rate 100% (14/14), dropout rate 0% (0/14), study participation rate 88.4% (99/112)). On the other hand, there were no significant differences between the two groups on all rating scales, including those assessing anxiety.

Free Research Field

精神療法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

MBCTと曝露療法を組み合わせたプログラムは存在せず、著者が知る限り、世界でも初めての試みであった。またグループ療法であり効率的な介入のMBCTと、利便性が高く、新たな人手を要さないVRの組み合わせのために、実用性の高いプログラムとして活用が期待された。
対象者数が14名と少ないものの、実施可能性について問題のないことが示された。一方で介入による効果の有意な差を認めなかったため、追跡をする期間を設けるなど研究のデザインの改良を要することが示唆された。