Combining Virtual Reality and Hypnosis to Alleviate Chronic Pain in Elderly Patients with Hand Arthritis

Anxiodepressive symptoms

Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) ; 14 items: 7 items for anxiety, 7 items for depression ; Lickert scale from 0 to 3 ; a mean score is computed for each subscale (anxiety, depression) ; Minimum score for each scale: 0 ; Maximum score for each scale: 21 ; Higher scores mean worst symptomatology (negative outcome)

Time frame: Intervention group: Two times per week (before and after each session)/Control group: One time per week, For all: from enrollment to the end of intervention at 6 weeks and at a 3 weeks follow-up

Quality of life

Short-Form Health Survey 12 items (SF-12) ; includes 12 items measuring 8 dimensions (physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health problems, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health) ; the physical (PCS-12) and mental (MCS-12) scales are transformed to have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10 in the general U.S. population ; participants' scores represent the difference compared to the population average (measured in standard deviations) ; scores above 50 indicate a better-than-average health-related quality of life (positive outcome), while scores below 50 suggest below-average health-related quality of life (negative outcome).

Time frame: Intervention group: Two times per week (before and after each session)/Control group: One time per week, For all: from enrollment to the end of intervention at 6 weeks and at a 3 weeks follow-up

Fatigue

Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory - 10 Items (MFI-10) ; 10 items measuring 5 dimensions (general fatigue, physical fatigue, mental fatigue, reduction in activity and reduction in motivation) ; the Lickert scale ranges from 1 to 5 ; the answer on the scale represents the score of each individual item which is then added up to a sum for each dimension ; scores per dimension can vary between 4 and 20 ; higher scores indicate higher fatigue levels (negative outcome)

Time frame: From enrollment, each week during 6 weeks, Intervention group: Two times per week (before and after each session)

Relaxation

Relaxation State Questionnaire (RSQ) ; 10 items ; Lickert scales from 1 to 5 ; scores are computed into a mean score; higher scores indicate higher levels of relaxation (positive outcome)

Time frame: From enrollment, each week during 6 weeks, Intervention group: Two times per week (before and after each session)

Perceived changes

Three free items evaluating perceived change in pain, anxiodepressive symptoms, and quality of life ; Lickert scale ranging from 1 to 10 ; higher scores indicate greater perceived changes (positive outcome)

Time frame: From Session 2, each week during 5 weeks, Intervention group: Two times per week (before and after each session)

Cybersickness

Cybersickness questionnaire ; 16 items including 2 subscales (nausea and oculomotor); Lickert scale ranging from 0 to 3 ; scores for each subscale are summed to give final scores ; higher scores indicate higher levels of cybersickness (negative outcome)

Time frame: From enrollment, each week during 6 weeks, Intervention group: One time per week (after each session)