Anxiety
Conditions
Keywords
Virtual Reality, Quality Improvement, Protected Health Information, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
Brief summary
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.
Detailed description
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.
Interventions
OTHERVirtual 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.
BEHAVIORALSurvey Responses/Parent Caregivers
Survey responses from parents regarding anxiety and satisfaction.
BEHAVIORALSurvey Responses/Nurses
Survey responses from nurses regarding anxiety and satisfaction.
Sponsors
Virginia Commonwealth University
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
RETROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
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
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in patient anxiety levels, as measured by heart rate | Before and after VR intervention, one visit only | 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. |
| Change in patient anxiety levels, as measured by blood pressure | Before and after VR intervention, one visit only | Change in patient anxiety levels, as measured by blood pressure, before and after VR intervention. Baseline blood pressure will be compared to the blood pressure after the intervention. |
| Change in patient anxiety levels, as measured by distress/fear scores | Before and after VR intervention, one visit only | Change in patient anxiety levels, as measured by distress/fear scores before and after VR intervention Baseline distress/fear scores will be compared to the distress/fear scores after the intervention. Using the Children's Fear Scale (CFS) (0-4): * 0 = no fear (good) * 4 = very high fear (bad) . Higher scores indicate worse anxiety. Anxiety levels were measured immediately before and immediately after the VR intervention). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Parental anxiety levels | Before and after VR intervention, one visit only | Change in parental anxiety levels, measured by pre- and post-intervention State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scoring involves summing the scores from the 40 items, each rated on a 4-point Likert scale, to assess state and trait anxiety. The higher the score, the higher the level of anxiety. 1. = Not at all 2. = Somewhat 3. = Moderately so 4. = Very much so |
| Nurse satisfaction ratings | Before and after VR intervention, one visit only | Nurse satisfaction ratings with the VR intervention, measured via survey responses. Nurse satisfaction with the VR intervention was measured using a brief, Likert-scale survey developed for this quality improvement project. Survey Format: A 5-point Likert scale was used for all items: * 1 = Very Dissatisfied / Very Difficult (bad) * 2 = Dissatisfied * 3 = Neutral * 4 = Satisfied * 5 = Very Satisfied / Very Easy to Use (good) Higher scores indicate better satisfaction and more straightforward implementation. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed