Clinical trial · Interventional
Feasibility of Delivering an Avatar Life-review Intervention to Support Patients With Active Cancer
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The objective of the study is to determine the feasibility and acceptability of an integrated art and technology, storytelling, life review platform for patients with active cancer. The VoicingHan project is an avatar storytelling platform designed for patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care at Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center. VoicingHan supports terminally ill patients by using oral storytelling as an artistic medium to facilitate patients' interactive performances. Movement-based, creative expression has been shown to reduce stress and depression. By projecting movement-based actions onto an avatar, this can serve as a tool to express emotional distress, address satisfaction with care, and view cancer in a different light.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar Life Review | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- OTHER
- label
- Patients with Active Cancer
- description
- Eligible participants will undergo an unknown number of Avatar-life review sessions depending on acceptability of the intervention to subjects and the capacity of the team to provide the intervention.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Avatar Life Review
Primary outcomes (3)
- measure
- Portion of successfully completed sessions
- timeFrame
- 2 months
- description
- The total number of sessions completed in compliance with the required protocol divided by the total number of sessions attempted
- measure
- Patient's perceived benefits of intervention
- timeFrame
- 15 minutes
- description
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Participants must be 18 years of age or older * Patient participants must have metastatic or locally recurrent cancer * Participants must be able to understand English * Participants must be ambulatory * Ability and willingness to sign a written informed consent document Exclusion Criteria: * Participants who cannot understand written or spoken English * Any prisoner and/or other vulnerable persons as defined by NIH (45 CFR 46, Subpart B, C and D).
References
Publications (28)
- BACKGROUNDCoelho A, Parola V, Cardoso D, Bravo ME, Apostolo J. Use of non-pharmacological interventions for comforting patients in palliative care: a scoping review. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2017 Jul;15(7):1867-1904. doi: 10.11124/JBISRIR-2016-003204. PMID 28708751
- BACKGROUNDZabora J, BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Curbow B, Hooker C, Piantadosi S. The prevalence of psychological distress by cancer site. Psychooncology. 2001 Jan-Feb;10(1):19-28. doi: 10.1002/1099-1611(200101/02)10:13.0.co;2-6. PMID 11180574
- BACKGROUNDLopez G, Garcia MK, Liu W, Spano M, Underwood S, Dibaj SS, Li Y, Moguel R, Williams J, Bruera E, Cohen L. Outpatient acupuncture effects on patient self-reported symptoms in oncology care: a retrospective analysis. J Cancer. 2018 Sep 8;9(19):3613-3619. doi: 10.7150/jca.26527. eCollection 2018. PMID 30310519
- BACKGROUNDDel Fabbro E, Dalal S, Bruera E. Symptom control in palliative care--Part III: dyspnea and delirium. J Palliat Med. 2006 Apr;9(2):422-36. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2006.9.422. No abstract available. PMID 16629572
- BACKGROUNDSinger AE, Goebel JR, Kim YS, Dy SM, Ahluwalia SC, Clifford M, Dzeng E, O'Hanlon CE, Motala A, Walling AM, Goldberg J, Meeker D, Ochotorena C, Shanman R, Cui M, Lorenz KA. Populations and Interventions for Palliative and End-of-Life Care: A Systematic Review. J Palliat Med. 2016 Sep;19(9):995-1008. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2015.0367. Epub 2016 Aug 17. PMID 27533892
- BACKGROUNDHolland J, Poppito S, Nelson C, Weiss T, Greenstein M, Martin A, Thirakul P, Roth A. Reappraisal in the eighth life cycle stage: a theoretical psychoeducational intervention in elderly patients with cancer. Palliat Support Care. 2009 Sep;7(3):271-9. doi: 10.1017/S1478951509990198. PMID 19788768
- BACKGROUNDRyu S, Imaging K, Commonwealth V, Society K. Avatar life-review : Virtual bodies in a dramatic paradox. 2017;7(2):5-8. doi:10.1386/vcr.7.2.121