Exploring Virtual Reality in Clinical Care - Impacts on Patient Distress, Parental Anxiety and Nurse Satisfaction

Virginia Commonwealth University168 enrolled

Overview

Prior experience with virtual reality (VR) in clinical care has demonstrated its potential to reduce patient anxiety and distress, particularly in pediatric settings. VR has been shown to effectively decrease preoperative anxiety in children undergoing various medical procedures, including IV catheter replacement, blood draws, and improve their compliance with anesthesia and overall procedural experiences. Limited evidence exists regarding the impact of VR on the broader care environment, including parental anxiety and nursing satisfaction in pediatric settings.

This retrospective study analyzes de-identified data from a nine-month quality improvement initiative to evaluate the impact of a custom VR intervention on pediatric preoperative anxiety, parental anxiety, and nurse satisfaction in a real clinical setting. The findings offer preliminary, practice-relevant evidence that VR can be a feasible, acceptable, and clinically meaningful non-pharmacologic tool in pediatric preoperative care, and they provide actionable insights to guide future implementation efforts and rigorous trials aimed at improving the hospital experience for children, families, and providers.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

168

Conditions

Anxiety

Interventions

Virtual Reality

Administered as part of a QI initiative aimed at reducing anxiety in pediatric patients during clinical care. The intervention involved using a VR system to provide a distraction and relaxation tool during routine procedures. This approach is consistent with recent research showing that VR can be an effective tool for reducing pain and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing medical procedures. Retrospective data collection.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 6 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Pediatric Subjects Inclusion Criteria: * pediatric patients who received VR intervention as part of the original QI initiative. * pediatric patients who were eligible and received VR during the QI initiative aged 6-15 years. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with developmental delays, head injuries, or seizures were excluded from the study. * Only those pediatric patients who met the inclusion criteria and did not exhibit the specified exclusion conditions were included. Data protection and de-identification procedures were rigorously applied throughout the study Caregivers/Parents Inclusion Criteria: \- pediatric patients who were eligible and received VR during the QI initiative, aged 6-15 years Exclusion Criteria: \- N/A Nurses Inclusion Criteria: * nurses of pediatric patients who were eligible and received VR during the QI initiative, aged 6-15 years Exclusion Criteria: * N/A

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in patient anxiety levels, as measured by heart rate

Change in patient anxiety levels, as measured by heart rate, before and after VR intervention. Baseline heart rate will be compared to the heart rate after the intervention.