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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05310747

Can Exposure to Inclusive Virtual Art Decrease Pain and Social Disconnection Among Individuals Living With Chronic Pain?

The proposed study is an experimental intervention to test for the effects of exposure to art by means of a virtual museum visit. It examines the fundamental question of whether exposure to virtual art can alleviate pain. Google Arts & Culture has digitized the collections of over 2,000 museums, art galleries, and other cultural institutions. The platform is free and allows 'visitors' to explore art from around the world. For this study, the PIs have chosen artwork from this collection and created a virtual museum gallery such that research participants will visit the museum with or without art (i.e., we will remove all art from the virtual galleries). In addition, we hypothesize that individuals primed to experience social connection prior to art exposure will experience lower perceived social disconnection and pain than those who are not primed.

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Key information

Conditions

Chronic Pain Neurologic Manifestations Pain Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Social Disconnection

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of California, Davis

Sacramento, California, 95817, United States

About this study

Research Design: 2 (virtual artwork exposure: present, absent) x 2 (prime: social connection prime: high, low) factorial experiment with a hanging control group (4 cells plus 1 control group, for a total of 5 cells) and 2 repeated measures. A priori power analysis using G*Power showed that the required sample size for a 5-group repeated measures experiment with 2 measurement times with 1-B error probability = .80 that expected small effect with a size of d = .10 and a significance level of p = .05 was a total of 305 participants (61 participants per cell).

Eligible individuals will be offered informed consent documentation via the StudyPages platform and then will be randomized to their study group:

  • Artwork present + Social connection prime high
  • Artwork present + Social connection prime low
  • Artwork absent + Social connection prime high
  • Artwork absent + Social connection prime low
  • Hanging control group - no exposure to any independent variables (i.e. artwork: present or absent; social connection prime: high or low)

Participants will fill out pre-intervention scales (pain intensity and unpleasantness; perceived social disconnection) prior to their virtual museum experience. Participants will then visit a virtual art museum gallery for 10 minutes or receive no exposure if they are in the hanging control group. In the artwork present condition, the virtual museum will feature paintings as part of an exhibition. In the artwork absent condition, paintings will be removed and thus the virtual museum will be empty. In the high social connection prime condition participants will be assigned to write an essay about a person and situation that made them feel valued, seen, and heard. In the low social connection prime condition participants will be assigned to write about a person and situation that made them feel ignored and not very valued. After 10 minutes within their condition participants will complete a post-intervention survey.

In addition, written responses to the social connection primes and museum visit data (e.g., user movement, object interaction, and perceptions about artwork in the museum) will be collected and analyzed.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • read and write in English language
  • chronic moderate to severe pain (≥ 6 months in duration; ≥ 4 in response to the question, "on average this week my pain intensity has been?" on a 0-10 NRS)
  • lonely (≥ 4 on the 3-item Loneliness Scale)
  • access to an electronic device with internet connection in order to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

  • dementia
  • adults unable to consent

Treatment and study plan

Artwork present

Behavioral

A virtual museum exhibit with a curated selection of artworks

Artwork absent

Behavioral

The same virtual museum exhibit space as the 'Artwork present' condition but with all of the artworks removed from the walls

Social connection high

Behavioral

Participants will identify a person from their life that makes them feel socially connected and then write (1) about that person and (2) an experience they had with that person that made them feel socially connected.

Social connection low

Behavioral

Participants will identify a person from their life that makes them feel socially disconnected and then write (1) about that person and (2) an experience they had with that person that made them feel socially disconnected.

Primary outcomes

  1. Social disconnection

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    Social disconnection scale; 12 items; scored 1 (not at all) - 5 (very much); range 12-60

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pain unpleasantness

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    Numerical rating scale (NRS) score of 0 "not unpleasant" - 10 "Most unpleasant sensation imaginable ("intolerable")"

  2. Pain intensity

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    Numerical rating scale (NRS) score of 0 "no pain" - 10 "worst pain imaginable"

  3. Change in pain during intervention

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    Did you experience any pain relief during the museum experience? 1=Yes/0=No

  4. Percent change in pain during intervention

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    If "Yes", what percent pain relief did you receive? 0%-100%

  5. Perceptions of the artwork related to the positivity of the social world

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    The artwork in the museum made me feel (7-point likert scale anchored by "Negative about the social world" and "Positive about the social world")

  6. Perceptions of the artwork related to connection to the social world

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    The artwork in the museum made me feel (7-point likert scale anchored by "Disconnected to the social world" and "Connected to the social world")

  7. Perceptions of the artwork related to inclusion in the social world

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    The artwork in the museum made me feel (7-point likert scale anchored by "Excluded from the social world" and "Included in the social world")

  8. Perceptions of the artwork related to positivity of social relationships

    Time frame: Post-intervention (immediately)/Day 1

    The artwork in the museum made me feel (7-point likert scale anchored by "Negative about my social relationships" and "Positive about my social relationships"

Other outcomes

  1. Museum visit data - User Movement

    Time frame: During intervention

    Each user's avatar movement will be calculated in an x, y, z axis within the structure of the virtual museum.

  2. Museum Visit Data - Object Interaction

    Time frame: During intervention

    Number of clicks on virtual museum artwork. Clicking gives users access to additional information about each piece of art.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of California, Davis

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Apr 5, 2022
Registry last updated
Apr 23, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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