Expression of Interest Form - SBRI

  • Expression of Interest Form

  • Thank you for your interest in our study exploring mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) delivered via virtual reality headsets. We are recruiting adults who are part of the agricultural community and who have experienced recent anxiety or depressive symptoms. We would like you to test our innovative approach over an 8-10-week period. You will be able to access all of the necessary equipment at home. 

    The form that follows will give us the details needed for us to decide if this is likely to be a suitable approach for you, however before completing the form, please read the information below. 

  • Who can participate?

    As a minimum, you need to be:

    • 18 years or older
    • a UK resident
    • not currently receiving talking therapies 
    • part of the agricultural community.

    What is the time commitment?


    The research study requires you to commit to the programme over a period of 8-10 weeks, at home, with all equipment provided. You will need to be able to commit to completing the eight-week course within ten weeks. You will need to be available to take part in this study from October 2025.


    Where is the study located?


    Within your own home


    Who are the study team?

    Our study team are: Tend VR Ltd and associates, University of Cambridge; The DPJ Foundation and We Are Farming Minds (both are farming charities); Health Innovation East.


    How can I find out more?

    • If you need more information or want to ask questions about the research study before completing this form, please contact research@tend-vr.com    
    • If you are accepted on to the study you will be provided with a Fully Informed Consent Form with further details of the study.
    • Please be aware that in submitting this form you are accepting the terms of the privacy policy for Tend VR Ltd, which can be found on our website here  https://www.tendmentalhealth.com/privacy

    IMPORTANT


    If you feel as if you might attempt suicide, or may seriously harm yourself, you need urgent medical help. Please do not complete this form and immediately:

    • Call 999 for an ambulance
    • Go straight to A&E, if you can
    • Call NHS 111
    • If you can't do this by yourself, ask someone to help you.
  • Date of birth*
     - -
  • To which gender identity do you most identify:*
  • Which of these best describes your ethnic group?:*
  • Do you have access to a smartphone?*
  • Are you due to move in the next 6 months?*
  • If phone is preferred contact, are you happy for us to leave a voicemail
  • What is your employment status?*
  • Is your employment status likely to change in the next 6 months?*
  • Do you understand written and spoken English?*
  • 1. Are you involved with any mental health services at present?*
  • 2. Are you currently having talking therapy?*
  • 3. Have you had talking therapy in the past?*
  • 4. Are you neurodivergent?*
  • If so, please state whether you are autistic, or if you have ADHD (or both) or if you have another neurodiversity.
  • 5. Would you consider yourself to be disabled?*
  • 6. Are you currently taking any medication for anxiety or depression?*
  • 7. Do you experience hallucinations?*
  • 8. Do you have severe motion sickness?*
  • 9. Within the last six months, have you experienced any suicidal thoughts and/or having thoughts to do so?*
  • 10. Have you ever caused harm to any other person and/or having thoughts to do so?*
  • 11. Do you have photosensitive epilepsy?*
  • 12. Do you have any serious physical health conditions or issues?*
  • 13. Has it ever been suggested that you are at risk of falls?*
  • 14. Please note that people with claustrophobia may not respond well to the study due to the tight-fitting nature of the headset. Do you suffer from claustrophobia?*
  • 15. Is there a possibility you could be pregnant?*
  • 16. When using the virtual reality headset to complete the sessions, it’s important you remain seated throughout each of your sessions – would this be a problem for you?*
  • 17. We appreciate some people may have scheduled breaks away that mean completing all sessions during an 8-10-week period would be problematic. Are you able to commit to completing the eight-week course within 10 weeks? (approx. 45 minutes per week for the VR-MBCT course plus three to four short practice sessions each week)*
  • 18. Are you expecting any major life events within the next 6 months?*

  • Please complete the 2 short questionnaires below as part of your expression of interest. 

    • These questionnaires are the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 7-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7). 
    • These help us to understand how you are feeling at the moment and help us to understand if this study is potentially suitable for you. 
    • We will ask you to complete these again, alongside other outcomes measures, immediately before your participation in the study commences.

  • PHQ-9

  • Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?

  • 1. Little or no pleasure in doing things*
  • 2. Feeling down depressed, or hopeless*
  • 3. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much*
  • 4. Feeling tired or having little energy*
  • 5. Poor appetite or overeating*
  • 6. Feeling bad about yourself – or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down*
  • 7. Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television*
  • 8. Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed? Or the opposite – being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual*
  • 9. Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way*

  • GAD-7

  • Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?

  • 1. Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge*
  • 2. Not being able to stop or control worrying*
  • 3. Worrying too much about different things*
  • 4. Trouble relaxing*
  • 5. Being so restless that it is hard to sit still*
  • 6. Becoming easily annoyed or irritable*
  • 7. Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen*

  • In addition, please complete the short consent form below, allowing us to process the information you have provided in this document. There will be a further, more detailed consent form once we have accepted you on to the study and have sent you additional information.

    1. I confirm that I have read all of the information in this expression of interest form. 
    2. I have had the opportunity to consider the information, ask questions and have had these answered satisfactorily.
    3. I understand that my consent is given only for sharing the information I have provided in this form, and only for sharing with the study team
    4. I understand that I am free to withdraw my consent at any time.
    5. I consent for the information I have provided in this form to be logged, stored and evaluated by the study team, including analysis of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 data, for the purposes of agreeing participation in the study and that the data will be held for up to 2 years if you are accepted on to the study but it will be deleted immediately if you do not participate in the study. This data will be held electronically on an encrypted server. 
    6. I consent to my name and phone number/email and basic details being shared with the study team.
    7. I would like to take part in the study and understand all of the information about the study that I have been given so far.
    8. I understand that further information will be provided, alongside a more detailed consent form, once I have been accepted on to the study and that I will have the opportunity to ask further questions and to withdraw at any time if I wish.
  • I confirm that I consent, based on the above statements*
  • Date*
     - -

  • If you have any questions about this research study, please get in touch with us using the following email: research@tend-vr.com

    Thank you for completing this expression of interest form and considering taking part in our study. 

    We will be in touch by the end of October to let you know whether or not you have been accepted on to the study. If you change your mind, just let us know by email and we can remove your application. 

    Thank you.

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