Am J Gastroenterol. 2022 Jan 7. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000001641. Online ahead of print.

Brennan M R Spiegel ^1 2, Omer Liran ^1 3, Rebecca Gale ¹, Carine Khalil ¹, Katherine Makaroff ¹, Robert Chernoff ³, Tiffany Raber ⁴, Bianca Chang ², Nipaporn Pichetshote ², Ali Rezaie ²

Author information

¹Cedars-Sinai Department of Medicine, Division of Health Services Research.

²Cedars-Sinai Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology.

³Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

⁴University of California, Irvine.

Abstract

Background: Although gut-directed psychotherapies are effective for IBS, they are rarely prescribed given a paucity of trained clinicians. Virtual reality (VR) offers a solution by allowing patients to self-practice these techniques in a standardized manner.

Methods: A multidisciplinary team developed IBS/VR, a program that transports users into immersive VR worlds that teach patients about the brain-gut axis, cognitive behavioral therapy, and gut-directed meditation. We tested IBS/VR in Rome IV IBS patients and used inductive analysis to evaluate perceptions and identify recommendations.

Results: We achieved thematic saturation after nine interviews; three additional interviews revealed no emergent themes. After making 23 software changes based on patient feedback, we conducted three additional interviews which confirmed thematic saturation (N=15 total).

Discussion: This study offers initial validation of the first VR program designed for IBS.