Using Virtual Reality to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Hospital Experience in Paediatric Orthopaedic Patients and Their Parents

Bibliographic Data

ID15713792
AuthorsNatasha Oh (0000-0002-8524-3129, King's College London, corresponding author), Nina Parrish (King's College London), In Woo Lee (King's College London), Sasha Temple (Evelina London Children's Healthcare), Oliver Perkins (0000-0002-9073-6235, Evelina London Children's Healthcare), Michail Kokkinakis (Evelina London Children's Healthcare)
Year2023
Volume10
Issue8
Pages1409-1409
Publication date2023-08-18
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueChildren (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-9067 • E-ISSN: 2227-9067
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/children10081409
PMID37628408
OpenAlexW4386030476
LanguageEN
References cited40

The hospital environment can be a stressful environment for paediatric patients and their parents, which is often characterised by heightened levels of pain and anxiety. To address these challenges, many innovative intervention methods has been explored. For example, immersive virtual reality (VR) headsets as a distraction method has become an increasingly popular intervention in recent years. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of VR using 'Rescape DR.VR Junior' in reducing pain, anxiety, and enhancing the overall hospital experience for paediatric orthopaedic patients and their parents. A total of 64 patients aged 4-18 years were included in this study, which utilised a control group (interacting with a play specialist) and a VR intervention group (including pre-operative patients and fracture clinic patients). Anxiety and pain levels were measured using a 10-point Likert scale before and after the intervention, and validated questionnaires were used to assess parental anxiety and overall hospital experience. The results indicated that VR intervention significantly reduced patient and parental anxiety both before surgery and in the fracture clinic setting ( p < 0.5). However, no significant reduction in pain scores was observed in either environments. Comparatively, VR intervention was found to be comparable to traditional play methods in terms of reducing anxiety in the pre-operative environment. All patients and parents agreed that the use of VR distraction methods significantly improved their hospital experience. In conclusion, VR is an effective method for reducing child and parental anxiety and enhancing the hospital experience and can be used alone or in conjunction with a play specialist

Anxiety · Human–computer interaction · Psychiatry · Virtual reality · Computer Science · Family and Patient Care in Intensive Care Units · Medicine · Music Therapy and Health · Pediatric Pain Management Techniques · Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access