The Effect of Virtual Reality Glasses Pain, Anxiety and Satisfaction Level in Intrauterine Device Application'

Anxiety, Distraction Cards, Pain, Virtual Reality

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of virtual reality glasses and distraction cards, which are cognitive behavioral techniques, on women's pain, anxiety and satisfaction levels. It is aimed to reduce your anxiety level, reduce pain level and increase feelings of satisfaction by showing you a nature video with Virtual Reality Glasses or showing distraction cards so that you can spend this process more comfortably while IUD is being applied. The following questions are expected to be answered in this research: When virtual reality glasses and distraction cards are applied during the IUD procedure; (1) Does it affect the woman's pain level? (2) Does it affect the woman's anxiety level? (3) does it have an effect on women's satisfaction? In addition, it is aimed to reveal the effectiveness of virtual reality glasses and distraction cards in the IUD application process, which is one of the modern family planning methods in midwifery applications, and to bring a non-invasive and cost-effective option into practice.

The proportion of women who want to use Family Planning in the world in the last two decades has reached approximately 1.1 billion and has shown a significant increase . Despite this increasing demand, it is seen that there has been a slow increase of 3.2 in the ratio of family planning (FP) needs met by modern contraceptive methods for women of reproductive age in the last ten years. The reasons for this slow increase include limited access to modern contraceptive methods, women's prejudice about some methods, and low quality of available services . In addition, WHO reported that almost half of pregnancies in developing countries between 2015 and 2019 were unwanted pregnancies , and recommended effective FP counseling and the use of more modern contraceptive methods to prevent this . In Turkey, the Ministry of Health provides individuals with free access to modern FP methods. Despite this, according to 2018 data of the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TNSA), it has been reported that 49% use modern methods in the use of FP method, and the Intrauterine Device (IUD) is among the most effective modern methods with a rate of 14% . Among the factors affecting the use of the IUD; women's perception of pain during the application and the fact that it can be applied in certain centers . In addition, it has been reported in the literature that women perceive pain during IUD application. In these studies, pain; especially used in the stages of IUD application; It is reported that it is detected during tenaculum insertion, measurement with a hysterometer, and finally during IUD insertion. For this reason, there is a need for applications to reduce the pain associated with the IUD application, which is the modern FP method of women. Again, it is assumed that women will experience anxiety before the IUD application as in other medical procedures . It is seen in the literature that there are studies to alleviate the perceived pain in IUD application . In addition, it is expected that the applications made to women for the symptoms such as pain and anxiety related to the applications in the field of health will increase their satisfaction . In this context, there are studies in the literature showing that virtual reality glasses and distraction cards, which are cognitive behavioral techniques, are used during medical procedures, reducing the perception of pain and reducing the level of anxiety. . Although virtual reality glasses are a technological device, they have been widely used in the medical field in hospitals. Virtual reality glasses to be used in the research are not a medical device. This device is a technological glasses that works with compatible smartphones. The applications to be made with this device are within the framework of midwifery care applications and are not a treatment method, mediator or treatment option for any disease and do not have any harmful effects. Again, the cards with optical illusion figures on the distraction cards enable women to focus and reduce pain and anxiety. No study has been found in the literature examining the effects of virtual reality glasses and distraction techniques on pain, anxiety and satisfaction levels in IUD application. However, in line with the results of the study, it is thought that the IUD procedure will have a positive effect on reducing the perceived pain and anxiety of women and increase satisfaction.

Turkey (Türkiye)