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Can a phone app help people face cockroach fears from home?

NCT ID NCT07813364

Symptom relief Sponsor: Universitat Jaume I Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting This study
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 10, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers are testing a smartphone app called FobiApp that uses augmented reality to guide people through exposure therapy for cockroach phobia. Adults with a diagnosed cockroach phobia use the app at home, working through increasingly difficult levels that show virtual cockroaches. The study compares the app alone with the app plus attention bias modification training, and measures usability, satisfaction, and changes in avoidance behavior.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
a smartphone app that delivers self-guided augmented reality exposure therapy, with or without attention bias modification training
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer a convenient, low-cost way for people with animal phobias to get exposure therapy from home instead of waiting for in-person care.
What could go wrong
This is a small feasibility study of 40 people, so it cannot prove the app works. Self-guided exposure may be hard to stick with, and results in cockroach phobia may not apply to other fears.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 40 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Expected to start

Oct 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Aug 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥ 18 years * Meeting diagnostic criteria for Specific Phobia (animal subtype: cockroaches) based on DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria. * Have had the phobia for at least one year. * Having a score of at least 4 on the fear and avoidance scales of the administered diagnostic interview. * Sign an informed consent. * Having a smartphone and access to the Internet. * Having an e-mail address. Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of another psychological problem that requires immediate attention * Having current dependence or abuse of alcohol or drugs, psychosis or serious organic disease. * Being currently treated in a similar treatment program. * Being able to put his/her hands into a plastic container with a cockroach (during the behavioral test). * Taking anxiolytics during the study (or if taking them, changing the drug or dose during the study).

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

specific phobia Zoophobia

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Specific phobia

How to take part

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  1. The places running it

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  2. The official record

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  3. A doctor treating you

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Universitat Jaume I

    Castellon, Valencia, 12006, Spain

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