INVEST feasibility trial
Research type
Research Study
Full title
INVEST: A feasibility randomised controlled trial of psychologically informed vestibular rehabilitation for chronic dizziness
IRAS ID
276707
Contact name
Rona Moss-Morris
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN10420559
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 0 days
Research summary
Research Summary
The treatment of dizziness consists of exercises called ‘vestibular rehabilitation’. There is evidence to show that not everyone improves with this treatment. New studies suggest that it may be better to look at each person individually and expand rehabilitation protocols to include psychological techniques that modify symptom-related beliefs and behavioural responses to dizziness. The purpose of the project is to assess whether it is possible to conduct a full-scale main study. To do this we will collect important information that is needed to design a larger study alongside interviews with participants.
The research will take place at St George's NHS Hospital. Participants will be recruited from the balance clinic at St George's. Participants will need to be over the age of 18 and have had dizziness for 3 months or longer. Forty participants will be recruited. Consenting participants will be randomly assigned to undergo 6 sessions of 'psychologically informed physiotherapy' or 6 sessions of 'physiotherapy as usual' over 4 months. Participants will complete self-report questionnaires about their physical and mental health and a test of their balance before and after the treatments.
Summary of Results
The goal of this study was to find out if it is possible to do a full-scale main study of integrating cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure techniques into physiotherapy-led vestibular rehabilitation (INVEST) for chronic dizziness. Forty adults with dizziness were randomly assigned to either six sessions of the new INVEST protocol or six sessions of the current gold standard vestibular rehabilitation. A large number of patients who met the criteria agreed to take part, and followed the treatment. Both treatments were found to have high acceptability. The study showed that INVEST might work better than the current gold standard of physiotherapy. The study met all the criteria to progress to a full scale trial.
REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
20/WA/0089
Date of REC Opinion
9 Mar 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion