Virtual reality (VR) to reduce anxiety in children in the plaster room: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Water, Lisa van der; Poppelaars, Max A; Oost, Iris Koenraadt-van; Hensbroek, Pieter Boele van; Bergen, Christiaan J. A. van

doi:10.1186/s13063-022-06488-2

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 13 publications

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“…The use of VR in paediatric orthopaedic patients and its effect on anxiety and pain in different orthopaedic environments has been only scarcely reported in the international literature [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Oh,

Parrish,

Lee

et al. 2023

Children

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Oh,

Parrish,

Lee

et al. 2023

Children

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Virtual reality reduces anxiety of children in the plaster room: a randomized controlled trial

Poppelaars,

van der Water,

Koenraadt-van Oost

et al. 2024

Bone Joint J

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AimsPaediatric fractures are highly prevalent and are most often treated with plaster. The application and removal of plaster is often an anxiety-inducing experience for children. Decreasing the anxiety level may improve the patients’ satisfaction and the quality of healthcare. Virtual reality (VR) has proven to effectively distract children and reduce their anxiety in other clinical settings, and it seems to have a similar effect during plaster treatment. This study aims to further investigate the effect of VR on the anxiety level of children with fractures who undergo plaster removal or replacement in the plaster room.MethodsA randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 255 patients were included, aged five to 17 years, who needed plaster treatment for a fracture of the upper or lower limb. Randomization was stratified for age (five to 11 and 12 to 17 years). The intervention group was distracted with VR goggles and headphones during the plaster treatment, whereas the control group received standard care. As the primary outcome, the post-procedural level of anxiety was measured with the Child Fear Scale (CFS). Secondary outcomes included the children’s anxiety reduction (difference between CFS after and CFS before plaster procedure), numerical rating scale (NRS) pain, NRS satisfaction of the children and accompanying parents/guardians, and the children’s heart rates during the procedure. An independent-samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test (depending on the data distribution) were used to analyze the data.ResultsThe post-procedural CFS was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the intervention group (proportion of children with no anxiety = 78.6%) than in the control group (56.8%). The anxiety reduction, NRS pain and satisfaction scores, and heart rates showed no significant differences between the control group and the intervention group. Subanalyses showed an increased effect of VR on anxiety levels in young patients, females, upper limb fractures, and those who had had previous plaster treatment.ConclusionVR effectively reduces the anxiety levels of children in the plaster room, especially in young girls. No statistically significant effects were seen regarding pain, heart rate, or satisfaction scores.Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2024;106-B(7):728–734.

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Virtual reality (VR) to reduce anxiety in children in the plaster room: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Cited by 2 publications

References 13 publications

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

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

Virtual reality reduces anxiety of children in the plaster room: a randomized controlled trial

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