The VESPA Pilot Study

Last updated: July 14, 2025
Sponsor: Wake Forest University
Overall Status: Active - Recruiting

Phase

N/A

Condition

Social Anxiety Disorder (Sad)

Social Phobia

Treatment

Video Conference

Virtual Reality

Clinical Study ID

NCT04756245
00023881
  • Ages 45-80
  • All Genders
  • Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Summary

Physical activity has been described by the US federal government as a 'best buy' for public health. Unfortunately, most adults in the United States are not sufficiently active, and this worsens with age. Low levels of participation are driven by many challenging barriers, including lack of access, few opportunities for enjoyable activity, and few supportive social relationships, which is especially important given the central role of social connection for lasting behavior change.

A half-century of research in behavioral sciences has generated effective group-based physical activity programs, but these are inaccessible to most as they are often delivered in a few select research centers. Recent advances in telehealth have offered media for extending these interventions more broadly, but the experience of such programs is often hampered by technology that does not allow for a sense of physical and social presence. Fortunately, uptake of virtual reality (VR) is increasing rapidly, and the medium has a high level of potential for advancing the delivery of immersive evidence-based group interventions to those that most need it. Thus our specific aims are:

Specific aim 1: To test the feasibility and acceptability of a group-mediated physical activity intervention delivered fully via modern VR to older adults.

Specific aim 2: To examine the impact of this program on overall physical activity among older adults compared to the current standard-of-care for telehealth: the video conference meeting platform.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age of 45-80 years

  • Body mass index between 30-45 kg/m2

  • Low-active (30 or more minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on 2 or fewerdays per week)

  • Have access to home Wi-Fi

  • Have regular access to a computer, tablet, or smartphone to receive teleconferencingcalls

  • Have a clear "VR space" (7'x7' object-free space)

  • Have an "Activity buddy" (spouse, child, caregiver, etc.)

  • Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-M) score of 32 or greater

  • Consent from a physician for study participation

  • Proficient in the English language

  • Willingness to create or use existing personal Facebook account for virtual realityactivities.

Exclusion

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current involvement in other physical activity research studies

  • Hearing or sight impairments (significant visual or hearing impairment that cannotbe corrected and results in the inability to use the telephone or hear normalconversation, colorblindness)

  • Dependence on a cane or walker

  • More than 1 fall in the past year

  • Contraindication to exercise

  • Current or recent history within the last 6 months of: symptomatic coronary heartdisease, cancer, liver or renal disease, severe pulmonary disease, gross physicalimpairment, or uncontrolled hypertension; myocardial infarction or cardiovascularprocedure within the last 3 months

  • History of or diagnosis of photosensitive epilepsy

  • Score of "severe" on any question in the Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire;

  • Unwillingness to use a head-mounted virtual reality system

  • Current severe or untreated depression

Study Design

Total Participants: 30
Treatment Group(s): 2
Primary Treatment: Video Conference
Phase:
Study Start date:
December 17, 2020
Estimated Completion Date:
December 30, 2026

Connect with a study center

  • Wake Forest University

    Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109
    United States

    Active - Recruiting

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