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Can the integration of Motivational Interviewing skills in a virtual self-conversation be effective in promoting lifestyle changes among healthy adults and patients with obesity? A usability study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

D. Anastasiadou ,
J. Vázquez-De Sebastián ,
B. Spanlang ,
M. Slater ,
J.A. Quiroga ,
G. Parramón Puig ,
A. Ciudin ,
M. Comas  and
P. Lusilla-Palacios
D. Anastasiadou*
Affiliation:
Vall d Hebron Institute of Research, Department Of Psychiatry, Group Of Psychiatry, Mental Health And Addiction, Barcelona, Spain
J. Vázquez-De Sebastián
Affiliation:
Vall d Hebron Institute of Research, Department Of Psychiatry, Group Of Psychiatry, Mental Health And Addiction, Barcelona, Spain
B. Spanlang
Affiliation:
Virtual Bodyworks S.L., Virtual Bodyworks S.l., Barcelona, Spain
M. Slater
Affiliation:
Virtual Bodyworks S.L., Virtual Bodyworks S.l., Barcelona, Spain
J.A. Quiroga
Affiliation:
Vall d’Hebron University Hospital-VHIR Autonomous University of Barcelona, Department Of Psychiatry, Barcelona, Spain
G. Parramón Puig
Affiliation:
Vall d’Hebron University Hospital-VHIR Autonomous University of Barcelona, Department Of Psychiatry, Barcelona, Spain
A. Ciudin
Affiliation:
Vall d´Hebron University Hospital, Endocrinology And Nutrition Department, Barcelona, Spain
M. Comas
Affiliation:
Vall d´Hebron University Hospital, Endocrinology And Nutrition Department, Barcelona, Spain
P. Lusilla-Palacios
Affiliation:
Vall d’Hebron University Hospital-VHIR Autonomous University of Barcelona, Department Of Psychiatry, Barcelona, Spain
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The integration of Motivational Interviewing (MI) with behavioural and psychological interventions for the treatment of obesity has the potential to improve health-related outcomes of patients in the long-term.

Objectives

Our objective is to examine the usability of a VR embodiment tool for treating obesity.

Methods

Fourteen participants (6 healthy and 8 with morbid obesity) with a desire to make lifestyle changes were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG). Participants from the EG engaged in a virtual self-conversation aiming at understanding their own motivation to make lifestyle changes. Using the body swapping technique, participants were embodied alternately in their own virtual representation and in their counsellor’s body. To better guide this virtual self-conversation, participants were previously trained on MI skills. Participants from the CG were embodied in their own virtual bodies and participated in a “scripted dialogue” with a virtual counsellor who gave them practical recommendations about how to achieve lifestyle changes. A mixed-methods design was used, involving a semi-structured interview examining users´ satisfaction with the virtual experience, as well as self-report questionnaires, including readiness to change habits, body ownership, and system usability.

Results

Participants showed high usability of the platform with higher scores among participants from the EG compared to the CG. Levels of body ownership were satisfactory, with no differences between groups.

Conclusions

Through the integration of MI in the VR context with the patient being properly trained to carry out his/her own motivational self-conversation, we will provide an important advance in the psychological treatments of obesity.

Disclosure

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 951930

Keywords

Motivational Interviewobesityembodimentvirtual reality
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S575
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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