Professor and director of UMSON's Placebo Beyond Opinions organized research center publishes paper on telehealth virtual reality intervention.
Luana Colloca, MD, PhD, MS, professor; director, Placebo Beyond Opinions Center; and MPower Professor, was the first author of "Telehealth Virtual Reality Intervention Reduces Chronic Pain in a Randomized Crossover Study," which was published in npj Digital Medicine online on April 7.
Co-authors include Anna Han, an undergraduate under the Colloca Fellowship, an MPower strategic partnership, Nandini Raghuraman, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, and Yang Wang, PhD, assistant professor.
In a 5-week crossover trial, the research team compared virtual reality (VR) to matched audio content control in individuals with chronic pain. VR significantly reduced pain intensity, anxiety, and pain interference while improving mood and sleep quality. Findings highlight the potential of telehealth-based VR for addressing real-world challenges in managing chronic pain.