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Updated: Feb 18, 2026
Virtual Reality Experiments with Physiological Measures
Published on: August 29, 2018
Effectiveness of a virtual reality intervention to minimize pediatric stress and pain intensity during venipuncture
1Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland.
Insights
Virtual reality (VR) effectively reduces pain and stress during pediatric venipuncture. This study shows VR is a viable tool for minimizing needle-related discomfort in children.
Area of Science:
- Pain Management
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Virtual Reality Technology
Background:
- Virtual reality (VR) is recognized for its effectiveness in managing acute pain across various settings.
- However, its efficacy in alleviating pain during pediatric venipuncture remains inconclusive.
- This study also evaluates a novel hands-free interface for VR usability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the effectiveness of VR as a distraction technique for reducing pain and stress during pediatric venipuncture.
- To assess the usability of a new hands-free VR interface in a clinical setting.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental study involving 38 pediatric nephrology patients (mean age 11 years).
- The treatment group received venipuncture with VR distraction using an Oculus DK2 HMD and a Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) game.
- Pain and stress intensity were measured using visual analogue scales (VAS).
Main Results:
- The VR group reported significantly lower pain intensity (15.16 ± 20.51) compared to controls (37.05 ± 30.66; p < .02).
- Stress levels were also significantly lower in the VR group (11.16 ±18.58) versus controls (41.89 ± 40.89; p < .01).
- No significant correlations were found between VR effectiveness and patient age.
Conclusions:
- Virtual reality (VR) serves as an effective method for minimizing pain and stress associated with pediatric venipuncture.
- The MOT-based VR game demonstrated suitability for the studied pediatric age range.
- This VR solution is practical for implementation by nurses in clinical practice.
Purpose:
Virtual reality (VR) technology is an effective tool in treatment of acute pain. Numerous studies show the effectiveness of this method both in a clinical context and in the laboratory. However, research results on the effectiveness of VR in pediatric venipuncture pain is not conclusive-not all studies report the analgesic effect of VR. In addition to testing effectiveness of VR, we also assess the usability of a novel hands-free interface.
Design And Methods:
Patients of paediatric nephrology clinic (N = 38; mean age 11 years, range 7-17) participated in a posttest only between group quasi-experimental study. Participants in the treatment group received the venipuncture procedure with VR distraction. They were wearing a head-mounted Oculus DK2 HMD, and playing a game designed by the authors of the study. The game was based on Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) task, where players have to remember and simultaneously track several moving targets. MOT has been used in many studies on attention and working memory. Participants rated their pain and stress intensity on visual analogue scales (VAS) on a scale of 0 to 100 and answered a short questionnaire.
Results:
The VR group reported significantly lower pain intensity than the controls (mean = 15.16 ± 20.51 vs. 37.05 ± 30.66; t = 2.59, df = 36, p < .02, d = 0.863). Similar results were obtained for stress level (11.16 ±18.58 vs 41.89 ± 40.89; t = 2.98, df = 36, p < .01, d = 0.993). There were no correlations with age.
Practice Implications:
VR can be as an effective tool to minimize pediatric pain and stress due to venipuncture. The MOT-based VR game was suitable for children at the studied age range. This solution can be easily applied by nurses in their clinical practice.
