“Passive or interactive virtual reality? The effectiveness for pain and anxiety reduction in pediatric patients”

Abstract

Invasive techniques such as venipuncture are painful procedures causing stress and anxiety, both in pediatric patients and in their carers. For this reason, efforts are being made to develop mitigating strategies for the patient’s pain and anxiety during the performance. To analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the use of Virtual Reality distraction techniques as a measure of pain and anxiety reduction in pediatric patients and their parents. In addition, the effects of two modes of Virtual Reality (passive vs. interactive) were compared. A quasi-experimental study was carried out in the pediatric emergency department of a tertiary referral hospital in north Spain. The participants were children who underwent venipuncture for blood extraction and vascular cannulation. From the 124 patients, 51.6% (n = 64) were girls and 48.4% (n = 60) were boys (p = 0.574). The mean age was 8.4 years (SD: 4.1). The mean level of pain experienced was 2.33 (SD: 0.76) in the interactive VR group (n = 88) versus 2.67 (SD: 1.35) in patients with passive VR (n = 36) (p = 0.008); being the presence of anxiety in 27.3% (n = 24) of the cases treated with interactive Virtual Reality and in 88.9% (n = 32) of the patients with passive Virtual Reality (p = 0.000). The virtual reality is an effective method to reduce pain and anxiety levels in pediatric patients, with the effectiveness of interactive virtual reality and its use in the population aged 7–15 years being greater.

Examining the potential of VR program Tilt Brush in reducing anxiety

“…Its capacity to simulate different realities and experiences has prompted researchers to examine the potential of incorporating VR into various medical (Li et al 2017) and psychological (Maples-Keller et al 2017) interventions. VR techniques have been implemented in the treatment of phobias (Botella et al 2017), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Kothgassner et al 2019), anxiety disorders (Chan et al 2021;Rothbaum et al 2002;Parsons and Rizzo 2008;Eijlers et al 2019), depression (Falconer et al 2016), schizophrenia (Bisso et al 2020), eating disorders (Riva et al 2016a, b) and pain management (Ferraz-Torres et al 2022;Phelan et al 2021a, b;Matamala-Gomez et al 2019;Spiegel et al 2019;Vilalta-Abella et al 2015). Reducing anxiety using VR to deliver interventions has been explored and found effective through nature-based mindfulness experiences (Tarrant et al 2018;Chan et al 2021;Liszio and Masuch 2019;White et al 2018), VR distraction for pain during blood drawing (Piskorz and Czub 2018;Gerceker et al 2018;Gold and Mahrer 2018) and before entering an operating theatre (Ryu et al 2017;Arpaia et al 2022), and for cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) (Baghaei et al 2021).…”

The effect of simulated natural environments in virtual reality and 2D video to reduce stress

“…Participants in a virtual environment who did the activity showed a more significant overall gain in conceptual learning than those who did not (Roussou and Slater, 2020). Ferraz-Torres et al (2022) found that interactive virtual reality produced more significant anxiety reduction and lower pain levels than passive ones in children who underwent venipuncture. The virtual reality environment in this study was used with a controller to move to other places.…”

The Impact of Virtual Reality (VR) on Psychological and Physiological Variables in Children Receiving Chemotherapy: A Pilot Cross-Over Study

“…Interactivity may facilitate the immersive effects of VR, and it may also contribute to the feeling of control. 19 In this game, children have to link stars in a calm, Arctic setting. If the stars are linked properly, mythic creatures appear as a reward.…”