Bridging Recovery Allies in Virtual Environments

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The Bridging Recovery Allies in Virtual Environments (BRAVE) study aims to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of implementing a virtual environment (VE) social support group for social communication training among adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Official Title
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Bridging Recovery Allies in Virtual Environments (BRAVE)-Understanding Feasibility and Acceptability of Using Virtual Environments for Social Communication in Persons With TBI

Conditions
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Traumatic Brain Injury

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Virtual Envrionment for Social Communication


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: subjects with a traumatic brain injury between the age of 18 and 80 living in the community able to read and speak English, are more than 1-year post-injury are accessible by phone, report independent computer usage over the last 6 months have access to a computer meeting minimum specifications for the Learning in Virtual Environments (LIVE) platform (requires Windows) have broadband Internet connection, achieve a Galveston Orientation Assessment Test (GOAT) score >75 to ensure appropriate levels of cognition for the study and score >93.8 on the Western Battery Aphasia-Revised (WAB-R) scale to indicate sufficient communicative abilities to participate in a social support group and exit interview group. able to understand and independently consent for the study and provide written consent prior to enrollment in the study Exclusion Criteria: - verbal communication impairments will be excluded as measured by the WAB-R, as this study intends to focus on persons with social communication deficits rather than verbal deficits.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 80 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Virtual Envrionment for Social Communication<br>Once the intervention begins, participants will meet online from home for one-hour sessions twice a week (twelve sessions over six weeks). Weekly sessions will follow a standardized format: 15 minutes- Social support group (guided discussion of experiences related to weekly topic) 20 minutes- Didactic instruction 15 minutes- Role playing 10 minutes- Debriefing and group feedback | Behavioral: Virtual Envrionment for Social Communication<br>* Once the Virtual Envrionment for Social Communication intervention begins, participants will meet online from home for one-hour sessions twice a week (twelve sessions over six weeks). Weekly sessions will follow a standardized format: 15 minutes- Social support group (guided discussion of experiences related to weekly topic) 20 minutes- Didactic instruction 15 minutes- Role playing 10 minutes- Debriefing and group feedback<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Perceived Usability as Assessed by the System Usability Scale (SUS) | Scores on the System Usability Scale (SUS) range from 0-100, with higher scores indicating greater usability (which is the desired outcome). | about 1 week after the end of the intervention | 
| Acceptability as Assessed by the Acceptability E-Scale | Scores on the Acceptability E-scale range from 6-30, with higher scores indicating greater acceptability (which is the desired outcome). | about 1 week after the end of the intervention | 
| Feasibility as Assessed by Participation Rate | Scores on the LaTrobe Social Communication Questionnaire (LCQ) range from 30-120, with lower score indicating less social communication impairment (which is the desired outcome). | from the start of the intervention to the end of the intervention (6 weeks) | 
| Feasibility as Assessed by Attrition Rate |  | from the start of the intervention to the end of the intervention (6 weeks) | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Social Communication as Assessed by the LaTrobe Communication Questionnaire (LCQ) |  | baseline, about 1 week after the end of the intervention | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Virtual Environments, Social Communication