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Virtual Reality Distraction for Needle-Related Pain and Distress in Children: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled
Marcin Czub1, Elena R Serrano-Ibáñez2, Joanna Piskorz1
1Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland.
Insights
Virtual reality (VR) and non-VR games equally reduce children's needle pain and anxiety during blood draws. This finding suggests costly VR equipment isn't essential for effective distraction in pediatric care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pain Management
- Medical Technology Evaluation
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Needle-related procedures cause significant pain and anxiety in children.
- Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly explored as a distraction tool for pediatric pain.
- Evidence comparing VR to non-VR distraction for procedural pain is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of VR distraction versus an identical non-VR game in reducing pain and anxiety in children during venous blood draws.
- To evaluate child distress, attention, and satisfaction with the procedure across VR, non-VR, and control groups.
- To provide evidence-based recommendations for using VR in pediatric clinical settings.
Main Methods:
- International multicenter randomized controlled trial involving 304 children aged 5-9 years.
- Three groups: VR distraction, identical non-VR distraction (smartphone/monitor), and control (usual care).
- Distraction based on Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) paradigm; primary outcome: self-reported pain (Faces Pain Scale-Revised).
Main Results:
- Both VR and non-VR distraction groups showed significantly large effect sizes in pain reduction compared to the control group.
- No statistically significant difference in pain reduction or anxiety levels was found between the VR and non-VR distraction groups.
- Secondary outcomes, including child distress and satisfaction, also showed similar effectiveness between VR and non-VR interventions.
Conclusions:
- VR distraction and non-VR distraction are equally effective in mitigating needle-related pain and anxiety in children during blood draws.
- The findings suggest that advanced VR technology may not be necessary, and simpler non-VR methods can achieve comparable pain management outcomes.
- This study provides crucial insights for healthcare providers, indicating cost-effective distraction strategies can be implemented without compromising procedural pain relief for children.
Abstract:
This international multicenter randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) distraction with an identical non-VR game in reducing needle-related pain and anxiety in children undergoing venous blood draw. The study involved 304 children aged 5-9 years undergoing a blood draw procedure, randomly allocated to one of three groups: VR distraction, non-VR distraction, and control group (usual care). The distraction task was based on the Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) paradigm, and the game was identical in design and gameplay for both VR and non-VR distraction groups. The primary outcome was self-reported pain intensity using the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R). Secondary outcomes included child distress, attention/distraction to the blood draw, and parent and medical staff satisfaction with procedure. Analyses were conducted using analysis of variance and multivariable linear regression models. The results showed that VR distraction and non-VR distraction performed similarly, showing large effect sizes compared with standard care. There was no significant difference between the two types of distraction. The study's findings suggest that VR and non-VR distraction are similarly effective in reducing needle-related pain and anxiety in children undergoing venous blood draw. This is the first well-powered study comparing modern VR distraction with an identical task displayed on a smartphone or monitor screen. The study's results have important implications for using VR in clinical settings and suggest that investing in expensive VR equipment for acute pain management may not be necessary. The study protocol was pre-registered on Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/frsyc.
