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Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Interactive Play for Children During Intravenous Placement: A Randomized Controlled
Mei-Feng Hsu1, Yew-Wha Whu2, I-Chen Lin3
1Department of Nursing, Da-Yeh University, Taiwan.
Insights
Interactive virtual reality (VR) play significantly reduced pain and fear in children during intravenous placement. This VR intervention offers a child-friendly approach for healthcare settings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare innovation
- Child psychology and pain management
- Virtual reality applications in medicine
Background:
- Intravenous (IV) placement is a common yet distressing procedure for children.
- Managing procedural pain and fear is crucial for positive healthcare experiences.
- Current methods for pain and fear reduction may be insufficient for some children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the efficacy of an interactive virtual reality (VR) play intervention in alleviating pain and fear during IV placement in children.
- To compare VR play intervention against a standard educational approach.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 134 hospitalized children aged 6-12 years.
- Intervention group received immersive VR scenes (instructional and emotional catharsis) before and after IV placement.
- Comparison group received an educational photo book; pain and fear were assessed using validated scales.
Main Results:
- Children in the VR group reported significantly lower pain and fear scores compared to the control group.
- Caregivers also reported significantly lower pain and fear scores in the VR group.
- No significant difference in the time required for successful IV insertion between groups.
Conclusions:
- Interactive VR play is an effective method for reducing children's pain and fear during IV placement.
- This approach provides a feasible and child-friendly care practice for clinical settings.
- VR interventions can enhance patient comfort and potentially improve healthcare outcomes for pediatric procedures.
Purpose:
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive virtual reality (VR) play intervention including instructional play and emotional catharsis play sessions in reducing children's pain and fear during intravenous placement.
Methods:
A randomized controlled trial with parallel groups was conducted. The sample consisted of 134 hospitalized children aged 6-12 years (intervention group: n = 69; comparison group: n = 65). The intervention involved one immersive intravenous scene in VR before the actual intravenous placement and one emotional catharsis VR play after injection. The comparison group received an educational photo book about intravenous placement before receiving intravenous placement. The children and their caregivers rated their pain and fear by using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale and the Children's Fear Scale. The time required for successful intravenous insertion was also compared between the two groups.
Results:
Children's pain (p = .028) and fear scores (p = .004) were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the comparison group. Their caregivers' pain and fear scores (both p < .001) were significantly lower in the intervention group. The time required for successful intravenous insertion did not differ significantly between the intervention and comparison groups.
Conclusions:
The interactive play intervention with VR effectively reduced children's levels of pain and fear during the intravenous placement procedure. The results of this study can serve as a reference for the implementation of a feasible, child-friendly care practice for clinical intravenous placement in school-aged children.
