对于青少年和年轻人来说，癌症诊断可能会加剧他们在本质上脆弱的发育阶段的社会孤立感。先前的研究强调了同伴群体在癌症治疗过程中的重要性。支持小组有助于促进联系和恢复力，但由于多种因素，患者发现亲自参与很困难。此外，癌症带来的身体变化使这些患者不愿亲自见面。 COVID-19 大流行加剧了这些困难。虚拟现实 (VR) 允许创建由治疗师策划、计算机生成的社交空间，有可能为该人群提供支持小组。该协议描述了一项试点研究，旨在检验社交 VR 支持小组干预的有效性、可行性和可接受性我们接触了 20 名 17-20 岁的参与者，其中 16 人同意参加。此外，还有1名参与者因住院而退出。参与者使用 Meta Quest VR 耳机参加由专业人士主持的虚拟支持小组。这些小组由 4 名参与者和 1 名辅导员组成，总共有 22 场个人会议。每次会议持续 45-60 分钟，每周举行一次，持续 4-6 周。本研究的主要目的是收集有关干预措施的可行性和可接受性的定量和定性数据。可行性是通过会议参与率和总体保留率来衡量的。在最终干预会议结束时，通过与参与者进行简短的面对面访谈来探讨干预的可接受性。本研究的第二个目的是收集有关干预措施在减少参与者抑郁和焦虑症状以及增加积极情感和弹性方面的初步效果的数据。总共有 15 名 17-20 岁的患者参加了 11 月 5 日至 20 日期间的 22 场会议。 2019 年和 2021 年 7 月 8 日。中位年龄为 19 岁（IQR 17-20）岁。总体而言，10 名参与者 (62%) 被认定为男性，5 名参与者 (31%) 为女性，1 名参与者 (6%) 为跨性别女性。此外，5 名 (31%) 参与者被确定为西班牙裔，1 名 (6%) 被确定为非西班牙裔亚裔，3 名 (19%) 被确定为非西班牙裔黑人，6 名 (38%) 被确定为非西班牙裔白人，1 名被确定为非西班牙裔白人。 (6%) 被认为是其他种族或民族。血液系统恶性肿瘤或骨髓衰竭是最常见的诊断（8/16，50%）。平均出勤率为 72.8% (SD 25.7%)，保留率为 86.7% (SD 0.35%)。此外，由于意外的参与者安排问题，45% (10/22) 的会议不得不推迟一周或更长时间。使用 VR 为患有癌症的青少年和年轻人提供社会心理支持可能会减少与参加会议相关的常见障碍- 建立同伴支持小组，同时改善生活质量措施。这项研究的数据将为未来的研究提供信息，重点是在其他罕见疾病人群中开展 VR 支持小组，包括患有癌症的老年人。DERR1-10.2196/48761.©Asher Marks、Amanda Garbatini、Kimberly Hieftje、Vidya Puthenpura、Veronica Weser、Claudia -桑蒂·F·费尔南德斯。最初发表于 JMIR 研究协议 (https://www.researchprotocols.org)，2023 年 11 月 9 日。

For adolescents and young adults, a cancer diagnoses can magnify feelings of social isolation at an inherently vulnerable developmental stage. Prior studies have highlighted the importance of peer groups during cancer treatment. Support groups help foster connection and resilience, but patients find in-person participation difficult due to a variety of factors. Additionally, physical changes brought on by cancer makes these patients hesitant to meet in person. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified these difficulties. Virtual reality (VR) allows for the creation of a therapist-curated, computer-generated social space that potentially enables support groups for this population.This protocol describes a pilot study examining the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of a social VR support group intervention for adolescent and young adult patients with cancer.We approached 20 participants aged 17-20 years, and 16 agreed to participate. Moreover, 1 participant dropped out due to hospitalization. Participants attended virtual, professionally facilitated support groups using Meta Quest VR headsets. The groups consisted of 4 participants and 1 facilitator, amounting to a total of 22 individual sessions. Each session lasted 45-60 minutes and took place weekly for 4-6 weeks. The primary aim of this study was to collect quantitative and qualitative data on the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Feasibility was measured through session participation rates and overall retention rates. The acceptability of the intervention was explored through brief in-person interviews with participants at the end of the final intervention session. The secondary aim of this study was to collect data on the preliminary efficacy of the intervention in decreasing symptoms of participant depression and anxiety and increasing positive affect and resiliency.In total, 15 patients aged 17-20 years participated in 22 sessions between November 5, 2019, and July 8, 2021. The median age was 19 (IQR 17-20) years. Overall, 10 (62%) participants identified as male, 5 (31%) as female, and 1 (6%) as transgender female. Furthermore, 5 (31%) participants identified as Hispanic, 1 (6%) identified as non-Hispanic Asian, 3 (19%) identified as non-Hispanic Black, 6 (38%) identified as non-Hispanic White, and 1 (6%) identified as other race or ethnicity. Hematologic malignancies or bone marrow failure was the most common diagnosis (8/16, 50%). The mean attendance rate was 72.8% (SD 25.7%) and retention was 86.7% (SD 0.35%). Moreover, 45% (10/22) of sessions had to be postponed by a week or more due to unexpected participant scheduling issues.The use of VR to deliver psychosocial support for adolescents and young adults with cancer may reduce common barriers associated with attending in-person peer support groups while improving quality-of-life measures. The data from this study will inform future studies focused on conducting VR support groups in other rare disease populations, including older adults with cancer.DERR1-10.2196/48761.©Asher Marks, Amanda Garbatini, Kimberly Hieftje, Vidya Puthenpura, Veronica Weser, Claudia-Santi F Fernandes. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 09.11.2023.