Implicit BiasBWH-VR-1NCT07283523
Virtual Reality to Combat Weight-Based Implicit Bias: BWH Pilot Study
A study testing 360 Video on a Virtual Reality Headset in people with Implicit Bias and Implicit Association Test, run by Brigham and Women's Hospital at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this pilot implementation study is to evaluate the impact of a virtual reality (VR) intervention on implicit bias for resident physicians. The main question it aims to answer are: Does watching VR experience of two clinical encounters reduce implicit bias association test scores? Is the VR experience an… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Implicit Bias, Implicit Association Test
- What is being tested?
- 360 Video on a Virtual Reality Headset
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 52 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 19 Nov 2024to 31 Dec 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Resident physicians associated with Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Resident physicians providing informed consent to participate
Who cannot join
None listed.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115
About this study
Official title: The Use of Virtual Reality to Combat Weight-Based Implicit Bias Among Physicians in Training at Brigham and Women's Hospital: A Pilot Study
The goal of this pilot implementation study is to evaluate the impact of a virtual reality (VR) intervention on implicit bias for resident physicians. The main question it aims to answer are:
Does watching VR experience of two clinical encounters reduce implicit bias association test scores? Is the VR experience an acceptable intervention tool for reducing implicit bias?
Read more
Researchers will compare weight-based VR experiences consisting of two observed clinical encounters to a neutral education VR encounter to see if our intervention significantly impacts implicit bias association scores.
Participants will be asked
- Complete Implicit Association test for weight-based bias pre-intervention and post-intervention (immediately, at one week, and one month after the intervention) to assess their implicit bias
- Watch either experimental clinical encounter videos or neutral education video using a VR headset
- Participants will also complete an abbreviated IAT related to views on compliance
- Conditions
- Implicit Bias, Implicit Association Test
- Being tested
- 360 Video on a Virtual Reality Headset, 360-Control Video
- Keywords
- Reality, Virtual, Virtual Reality, Educational, Implicit Association Test, Weight-based Implicit Bias
- Medical subject headings
- Bias, Implicit
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
360 Video on a Virtual Reality HeadsetBehavioural
Two 360- videos watched via a VR headset where the study subject will witness a positive physician encounter with a compliant obese patient and a negative encounter with a non-compliant non-obese patient
360-Control VideoBehavioural
A neutral education video from the New England Journal of Medicine watched in a 360-theatre setting via a VR headset
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Encounters VR Videos | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: 360 Video on a Virtual Reality Headset |
| Control Neutral VR Video | Other | Not described Receives: Behavioral: 360-Control Video |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Implicit Association Test
Participants in both experimental and control arms will take four implicit association tests: one pre-VR to assess baseline, immediately post-VR, one-week, and one-month. Impact of VR experimental experience will be assessed for significant changes in IAT scores between the pre-VR test and the post-VR tests.
Measured: From enrollment to one-month post-intervention
Secondary outcomes (1)
Resident Impression of Virtual Reality Implicit Bias Project
The acceptability of the use of virtual reality for implicit bias studies will be surveyed
Measured: One-month post-VR
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Dec 2025
- Study start19 Nov 2024
- Primary completion30 Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (10)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Implicit BiasStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Brigham and Women's HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 52 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Daniel Palazuelos, Brigham and Women's Hospital
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07283523
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2022P001287
- Acronym
- BWH-VR-1
- Status last verified
- Dec 2025
- First submitted
- 4 Dec 2025
- Last updated
- 16 Dec 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: IPD may not be shared since IAT scores of residents may be considered private information that a resident physician may not want shared.
Publications
Marini M, Waterman PD, Breedlove E, Chen JT, Testa C, Reisner SL, Pardee DJ, Mayer KH, Krieger N. The target/perpetrator brief-implicit association test (B-IAT): an implicit instrument for efficiently measuring discrimination based on race/ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, weight, and age. BMC Public Health. 2021 Jan 19;21(1):158. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10171-7.
PubMed 33468085Gonzalez-Liencres C, Zapata LE, Iruretagoyena G, Seinfeld S, Perez-Mendez L, Arroyo-Palacios J, Borland D, Slater M, Sanchez-Vives MV. Being the Victim of Intimate Partner Violence in Virtual Reality: First- Versus Third-Person Perspective. Front Psychol. 2020 May 8;11:820. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00820. eCollection 2020.
PubMed 32457681Banakou D, Slater M. Body ownership causes illusory self-attribution of speaking and influences subsequent real speaking. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Dec 9;111(49):17678-83. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1414936111. Epub 2014 Nov 24.
PubMed 25422444Salmanowitz N. The impact of virtual reality on implicit racial bias and mock legal decisions. J Law Biosci. 2018 Apr 19;5(1):174-203. doi: 10.1093/jlb/lsy005. eCollection 2018 May.
PubMed 29707220Banakou D, Kishore S, Slater M. Virtually Being Einstein Results in an Improvement in Cognitive Task Performance and a Decrease in Age Bias. Front Psychol. 2018 Jun 11;9:917. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00917. eCollection 2018.
PubMed 29942270Peck TC, Seinfeld S, Aglioti SM, Slater M. Putting yourself in the skin of a black avatar reduces implicit racial bias. Conscious Cogn. 2013 Sep;22(3):779-87. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.04.016. Epub 2013 May 28.
PubMed 23727712Bertrand P, Guegan J, Robieux L, McCall CA, Zenasni F. Learning Empathy Through Virtual Reality: Multiple Strategies for Training Empathy-Related Abilities Using Body Ownership Illusions in Embodied Virtual Reality. Front Robot AI. 2018 Mar 22;5:26. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2018.00026. eCollection 2018.
PubMed 33500913Marini M, Rubichi S, Sartori G. The role of self-involvement in shifting IAT effects. Exp Psychol. 2012;59(6):348-54. doi: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000163.
PubMed 22750742Lai CK, Marini M, Lehr SA, Cerruti C, Shin JE, Joy-Gaba JA, Ho AK, Teachman BA, Wojcik SP, Koleva SP, Frazier RS, Heiphetz L, Chen EE, Turner RN, Haidt J, Kesebir S, Hawkins CB, Schaefer HS, Rubichi S, Sartori G, Dial CM, Sriram N, Banaji MR, Nosek BA. Reducing implicit racial preferences: I. A comparative investigation of 17 interventions. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2014 Aug;143(4):1765-85. doi: 10.1037/a0036260. Epub 2014 Mar 24.
PubMed 24661055Tappolet C, Teroni, F, Ziv, AK. Shadows of the Soul: Philosophical Perspectives on Negative Emotions. 2018
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 16 Dec 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Use of Virtual Reality to Combat Weight-Based Implicit Bias Among Physicians in Training at Brigham and Women's Hospital: A Pilot Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07283523
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- BWH-VR-1 / 2022P001287
- Conditions
- Implicit Bias, Implicit Association Test
- Keywords
- Reality, Virtual, Virtual Reality, Educational, Implicit Association Test, Weight-based Implicit Bias
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Enrolling by invitation
- Enrolment
- 52 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Brigham and Women's HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 19 Nov 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 16 Dec 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this pilot implementation study is to evaluate the impact of a virtual reality (VR) intervention on implicit bias for resident physicians. The main question it aims to answer are:
Does watching VR experience of two clinical encounters reduce implicit bias association test scores? Is the VR experience an acceptable intervention tool for reducing implicit bias?
Researchers will compare weight-based VR experiences consisting of two observed clinical encounters to a neutral education VR encounter to see if our intervention significantly impacts implicit bias association scores.
Participants will be asked
- Complete Implicit Association test for weight-based bias pre-intervention and post-intervention (immediately, at one week, and one month after the intervention) to assess their implicit bias
- Watch either experimental clinical encounter videos or neutral education video using a VR headset
- Participants will also complete an abbreviated IAT related to views on compliance
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical Encounters VR Videos | Experimental | Behavioral: 360 Video on a Virtual Reality Headset |
| Control Neutral VR Video | Other | Behavioral: 360-Control Video |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Resident physicians associated with Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Resident physicians providing informed consent to participate
Key exclusion criteria (0 listed)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| 360 Video on a Virtual Reality HeadsetTwo 360- videos watched via a VR headset where the study subject will witness a positive physician encounter with a compliant obese patient and a negative encounter with a non-compliant non-obese patient | Behavioural | Clinical Encounters VR Videos |
| 360-Control VideoA neutral education video from the New England Journal of Medicine watched in a 360-theatre setting via a VR headset | Behavioural | Control Neutral VR Video |
Primary outcome
Implicit Association Test
Time frame: From enrollment to one-month post-intervention
Participants in both experimental and control arms will take four implicit association tests: one pre-VR to assess baseline, immediately post-VR, one-week, and one-month. Impact of VR experimental experience will be assessed for significant changes in IAT scores between the pre-VR test and the post-VR tests.
1 secondary outcome
Resident Impression of Virtual Reality Implicit Bias Project
Time frame: One-month post-VR
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 16 Dec 2025.
- Background: PubMed 33468085Marini M, Waterman PD, Breedlove E, Chen JT, Testa C, Reisner SL, Pardee DJ, Mayer KH, Krieger N. The target/perpetrator brief-implicit association test (B-IAT): an implicit instrument for efficiently measuring discrimination based on race/ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, weight, and age. BMC Public Health. 2021 Jan 19;21(1):158. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10171-7.
- Background: PubMed 32457681Gonzalez-Liencres C, Zapata LE, Iruretagoyena G, Seinfeld S, Perez-Mendez L, Arroyo-Palacios J, Borland D, Slater M, Sanchez-Vives MV. Being the Victim of Intimate Partner Violence in Virtual Reality: First- Versus Third-Person Perspective. Front Psychol. 2020 May 8;11:820. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00820. eCollection 2020.
- Background: PubMed 25422444Banakou D, Slater M. Body ownership causes illusory self-attribution of speaking and influences subsequent real speaking. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Dec 9;111(49):17678-83. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1414936111. Epub 2014 Nov 24.
- Background: PubMed 29707220Salmanowitz N. The impact of virtual reality on implicit racial bias and mock legal decisions. J Law Biosci. 2018 Apr 19;5(1):174-203. doi: 10.1093/jlb/lsy005. eCollection 2018 May.
- Background: PubMed 29942270Banakou D, Kishore S, Slater M. Virtually Being Einstein Results in an Improvement in Cognitive Task Performance and a Decrease in Age Bias. Front Psychol. 2018 Jun 11;9:917. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00917. eCollection 2018.
- Background: PubMed 23727712Peck TC, Seinfeld S, Aglioti SM, Slater M. Putting yourself in the skin of a black avatar reduces implicit racial bias. Conscious Cogn. 2013 Sep;22(3):779-87. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.04.016. Epub 2013 May 28.
- Background: PubMed 33500913Bertrand P, Guegan J, Robieux L, McCall CA, Zenasni F. Learning Empathy Through Virtual Reality: Multiple Strategies for Training Empathy-Related Abilities Using Body Ownership Illusions in Embodied Virtual Reality. Front Robot AI. 2018 Mar 22;5:26. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2018.00026. eCollection 2018.
- Background: PubMed 22750742Marini M, Rubichi S, Sartori G. The role of self-involvement in shifting IAT effects. Exp Psychol. 2012;59(6):348-54. doi: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000163.
- Background: PubMed 24661055Lai CK, Marini M, Lehr SA, Cerruti C, Shin JE, Joy-Gaba JA, Ho AK, Teachman BA, Wojcik SP, Koleva SP, Frazier RS, Heiphetz L, Chen EE, Turner RN, Haidt J, Kesebir S, Hawkins CB, Schaefer HS, Rubichi S, Sartori G, Dial CM, Sriram N, Banaji MR, Nosek BA. Reducing implicit racial preferences: I. A comparative investigation of 17 interventions. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2014 Aug;143(4):1765-85. doi: 10.1037/a0036260. Epub 2014 Mar 24.
- BackgroundTappolet C, Teroni, F, Ziv, AK. Shadows of the Soul: Philosophical Perspectives on Negative Emotions. 2018
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided. IPD may not be shared since IAT scores of residents may be considered private information that a resident physician may not want shared.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing 360 Video on a Virtual Reality Headset in people with Implicit Bias and Implicit Association Test, run by Brigham and Women's Hospital at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: enrolling by invitation, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Dec 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Implicit Association Test (time frame: From enrollment to one-month post-intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07283523, which also lists 10 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Dec 2025.