Abstract
Background Fear of flying (FoF) is an anxiety disorder classified as a phobia. Its prevalence is estimated at 10–40% in the industrialized world, and it is accompanied by severe economic, social, vocational and emotional consequences. In recent years, virtual reality-based exposure therapy (VRET) for FoF has been introduced. One such FoF-VRET is offered as a paid clinical service at the Center of Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation (CATR), Sheba Medical Center, Israel. Positive long-term efficacy of FoF-VRET has been found in several studies. However, these studies are limited by relatively small, non-representative samples and a lack of comparative pre/post functional efficacy outcome measures.
Methods To address these limitations, we conducted a retrospective survey of self-referred individuals treated with FoF-VRET at CATR over the previous four years. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of our FoF-VRET in this representative real-world sample. Of 274 individuals who received the treatment, 214 met inclusion/criteria, and 103 agreed to participate. The survey focused mainly on collecting information regarding flight activity before and after treatment. The primary outcome measures were: (1) number of flights per month (FpM); (2) number of flight hours per month (FHpM). For each participant, these outcomes were computed for the post-treatment period (≥6 months after FoF-VRET) and the corresponding pre-treatment period.
Results FpM (mean±SD) increased from .05±.07 to .16±.07 flights (p<.0001). FHpM rose from.22±.41 to .80±.86 hours per month (p<.0001).
Conclusions These results are indicative of FoF-VRET treatment efficacy. Future studies should evaluate long-term maintenance of the treatment effect and thus identify the optimal frequency for delivery of periodic booster treatments.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
List of abbreviations
- CATR
- Center of Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation
- CBT
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- FHpM
- Flight Hours per Month
- FoF
- Fear of Flying
- Fpm
- Flight per Month
- IQR
- Interquartile Range
- VR
- Virtual Reality
- VRET
- Virtual Reality Exposure Treatment