Recruiting

Virtual Reality

Sponsor:

University of Manitoba

Code:

NCT07366515

Conditions

Oncologic Surgery

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Virtual Reality

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of an expanded virtual reality (VR) intervention designed to help prepare patients for cancer surgery. This study will: (1) assess the investigator's ability to recruit, retain, and engage participants, (2) evaluate how acceptable participants find the intervention through their feedback on its individual components. The investigators will also explore whether baseline anxiety levels or psychiatric history predict responses to the intervention, as well as look for any changes in perioperative anxiety and monitoring for any adverse effects associated with the intervention. This study will also investigate engagement of providing participants with a first-person VR session recordings to determine utility and whether post-session access is perceived as beneficial. Finally, preliminary pilot outcomes will examine whether increased engagement in the VR results in reductions in anxiety on the day of surgery.

Conditions

Oncologic Surgery

Study ID

NCT07366515

Start date

Apr 22, 2026

Status verified date

Dec, 2025

Completion date

Jun 30, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun 1, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Patients will be deemed eligible for inclusion if they: (a) are 18 years of age or older; (b) are able to speak and read English; (c) have received a cancer diagnosis; and (d) are scheduled, or in the process of being scheduled to undergo oncological surgery under general anesthesia at the Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg. Patients will be deemed ineligible if they are unable to provide informed consent (e.g., due to cognitive impairment) or if they have any visual, auditory and/or motor impairments that would preclude effective participation in the Virtual Reality intervention.

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Device Feasibility

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

other: Daily Viewing Group

Participants assigned to this group will be instructed to review the standardized VR intervention recording daily, following their in-person session and continuing up to their scheduled surgery date.

other: Self-directed group

Participants assigned to this group will be instructed to review the standardized VR intervention recording as little or as much as they would like, following their in-person session and continuing up to their scheduled surgery date.

Interventions

Virtual Reality

The VR simulation involves the experience of prepping, waiting, receiving, and recovering from surgery at a large tertiary care centre in Central Canada. It is designed to prepare patients for cancer surgery by increasing familiarity with the hospital environment, providing the opportunity to "experience" restricted areas of the hospital that patients cannot access until the day of the surgery, and better understand the surgical process. The simulation was originally developed for a prior research project focused on breast cancer surgery and has since been adapted based on participant feedback. The intervention includes multiple modules that progress from an orientation to the hospital environment to more immersive, first-person surgical experiences.

Primary outcome measure

  • Engagement [ Time Frame: Day 0 post-intervention ]
  • Acceptability [ Time Frame: Day 0 post-intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Cassidy Santos, BA (Hons.)

204-787-7424csantos17@hsc.mb.ca

Renee El-Gabalawy, PhD

204-787-4083renee.el-gabalawy@umanitoba.ca

Locations

Health Sciences Centre

Recruiting

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3E 0Z2

Contacts

Cassidy Santos, BA (Hons.)

204-787-7242csantos17@hsc.mb.ca

Renee El-Gabalawy, PhD

204-787-4083renee.el-gabalawy@umanitoba.ca

More Information

Sponsor

University of Manitoba

Last update posted

May 5, 2026

Last verified

Dec, 2025

Keywords

  • virtual reality
  • oncological surgery
  • feasibility
  • perioperative mental health
  • preoperative anxiety and distress

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Manitoba on 2026-05-05.