Mindfulness-Based Virtual Reality Intervention for Children and Young Adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Pilot Feasibility and Acceptability Study

Abstract

The aim of this pilot study was to assess: (1) the feasibility and acceptability of a Mindfulness-Based Virtual Reality (MBVR) intervention among children and young adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and (2) the preliminary efficacy of MBVR on key psychological (anxiety) and physical (pain) outcomes. Participants were 62 children to young adults with IBD (M = 15.6 years; 69.4% Crohn’s disease; 58% male) recruited from an outpatient pediatric IBD clinic. Participants completed a baseline assessment, underwent the 6-min MBVR intervention, completed a post-intervention assessment and study satisfaction survey, and provided qualitative feedback. Results suggest strong feasibility and acceptability. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with MBVR including high levels of enjoyment (M = 4.38; range 1–5) and relaxation (M = 4.35; range 1–5). Qualitative data revealed several key themes including participants interest in using MBVR in IBD medical settings (e.g., hospitalizations, IBD procedures, IBD treatments), as well as in their daily lives to support stress and symptom management. Preliminary analyses demonstrated improvements in anxiety (t = 4.79, p = 0.001) and pain (t = 3.72, p < 0.001) following MBVR. These findings provide initial support for the feasibility and acceptability of MBVR among children and young adults with IBD. Results also suggest MBVR may improve key IBD outcomes (e.g., anxiety, pain) and highlight the importance of conducting a randomized controlled trial and more rigorous research to determine intervention efficacy.

Virtual Reality for Distraction and Relaxation in a Pediatric Hospital Setting: An Interventional Study With a Mixed-Methods Design

“…Nonetheless, our findings corroborate previous findings by Piskorz et al ( 9 ) indicating reduced stress levels during venipuncture in the VR intervention group as compared to the control group. A recent study investigating the effects of mindfulness-based VR (MBVR) in children with inflammatory bowel disease, showed that children felt more relaxed after using MBVR (similar to module 2 in the current study) and enjoyed its use ( 37 ), highlighting the potential of using VR as a relaxation tool for children in a hospital. The positive findings regarding higher reported happiness by the patients that VR use can improve a child's hospital experience.…”

The Role of Personalization in the User Experience, Preferences and Engagement with Virtual Reality Environments for Relaxation

“…Exposure to a personalized environment enhances the users’ involvement and their sense of presence [ 30 , 31 , 34 , 35 , 36 ] by exploiting VR’s capacity to remove many of the distracting factors in the natural world and, consequently, facilitating immersion and relaxation [ 37 ]. These digital interventions may also help reduce the costs of standard psychotherapy treatments, in addition to being increasingly scalable and able to lower costs [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. They help to standardize and offer remote access to psychological and medical treatments, as required by the current COVID-19 pandemic context [ 41 ].…”

Access to Nature via Virtual Reality: A Mini-Review

“…With lower prices and being more portable than before, VR technology has become a practical method for healthcare and rehabilitation ( Maggio et al, 2018 ; Verhoef et al, 2021 ; Wren et al, 2021 ). The main types of simulation for virtual environments are real-scene-based 360°videos and computer-generated (CG) scenarios ( Yeo et al, 2020 ).…”