Effectiveness of a Virtual-Reality-Based Self-Help Intervention for Lowering the Psychological Burden During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Iran

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic. In this framework, digital self-help interventions have the potential to provide flexible and scalable solutions for delivering evidence-based treatments that do not necessitate face-to-face meetings.

Objective: as part of a multicentric project, the purpose of the current randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a Virtual-Reality-based self-help intervention (namely, COVID Feel Good) in lowering the psychological distress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.

Methods: 60 participants were randomly assigned to the experimental (COVID Feel Good intervention group) or the control (no-treatment control group) condition. At the beginning of the intervention (Day 0), at the end of the intervention (Day 7), and after a 2-week follow-up (Day 21), measurements of depressive and anxiety levels, general distress, perceived levels of stress, hopelessness (primary outcome measures), perceived interpersonal closeness with the social world, and fear of COVID-19 (secondary outcome measure) were collected. The protocol consists of two integrated parts: the first part includes a relaxing 10-min three-hundred-sixty-degree (360°) video, while the second one includes social tasks with specified objectives.

Results: In terms of the primary outcomes, participants in the COVID Feel Good intervention group improved in depression, stress, anxiety, and perceived stress but not hopelessness. Secondary outcome results showed an improvement in perceived social connectedness and a substantial decrease in fear of COVID-19.

Conclusions: these findings on the efficacy of COVID Feel Good training add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the feasibility of digital self-help interventions in promoting well-being during this unique period.