Virtual Reality vs. Tablet Video as an Experiential Education Platform for Pediatric Patients Undergoing Chest Radiography: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR), which offers an immersive experience, has been implemented into the education of pediatric patients to reduce peri-procedural anxiety. This randomized clinical trial evaluated the effect of VR, compared with standard video, on reducing anxiety and distress in pediatric patients undergoing chest radiography. A total of 120 children aged 4 to 8 years with scheduled chest radiography appointments were randomized into either the tablet or the VR group. Children in the tablet group experienced chest radiography indirectly with a 3 min tablet video, whereas those in the VR group received the same content via a VR experience. The distress of children was measured using the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress (OSBD) scale. Parental presence and procedural outcomes were also recorded. The number of less distressed children (OSBD score < 5) was significantly higher in the VR group than in the tablet group (49 [81.7%]) vs. 32 [53.3%]) (p = 0.001). The OSBD scores, the need for parental presence, the procedure time, and the number of repeated procedures were all lower in the VR group. The immersive VR experience appears to decrease the degree of anxiety in children and increase the efficiency of the procedures compared with the tablet video with the same content.

Effects of Virtual Reality Education on Procedural Pain and Anxiety During Venipuncture in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…Previous studies have reported that VR education reduced periprocedural or perioperative anxiety in children, which is consistent with our results ( 13 – 16 ). Compared to 2-dimensional video education, 360°C 3-dimensional VR experience of the same content significantly reduced periprocedural anxiety in children undergoing chest radiography, which demonstrated the superior educational effect of VR ( 14 ). In the field of psychiatry, VR is utilized as an emerging method of exposure ( 19 , 20 ).…”

Investigating the Effect of Virtual Reality on Reducing the Anxiety in Children: A Systematic Review

“…The characteristics of all the studies included are reported in Table 2. Out of 10 incoming studies, 3 studies (30%) in Korea [2,24,25] and other studies in Brazil [19], Iran [20], Netherlands [21], Saudi Arabia [22], Republic of Korea [1], Spain [23] and China [3]. Studies in two categories of randomized trial (20%) [21,24] and randomized clinical trial (60%) [1-3, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25] Were classified.…”

“…In 7 of the studies, children and parents were satisfied with the virtual reality intervention in reducing anxiety, and in all 7 cases, users were highly satisfied [1-3, 19, 23-25]. In 3 cases of studies found from virtual reality technology in reducing pediatric anxiety in dentistry [3,19,23], 4 cases before surgery [20,21,24,25], 2 cases related to anxiety before shelf radiography of breasts [1,2] and one case were used during preoperative anesthesia [22].…”

“…Many children may experience anxiety in therapeutic settings, especially in situations such as preoperative surgery, dentistry, and radiology [1][2][3]. These feelings often affect not only medical procedures, but also unintended consequences such as trying to escape treatment and lack of cooperation, eating and sleeping disorders, and increased stress symptoms [4][5][6].…”

Intelligent Virtual Reality Therapy Systems for Motor and Cognitive Rehabilitation: A Survey based on Clinical Trial Studies

“…Regarding the hardware selected for interventions, 22.89% of the works used Mobile Devices such as Tablets and Smartphones, 48.30% used the Computer, around 20.34% Games consoles on the market for entertainment purposes such as Wii and Xbox and 8.47% of these studies used proprietary solutions with their own hardware development. Some interventions like Tennant et al [130], Ryu et al [157], Kakoschke et al [132], Amin, Ashfaq M., et al [104], Avcil et al [96], Hassett et al [69] used more than one hardware device to compare which approach among the groups of their clinical trials showed better results during their research.…”