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Updated: Jun 18, 2025
The use of Biofeedback in Clinical Virtual Reality: The INTREPID Project
Published on: November 12, 2009
[Virtual reality in the outpatient: reducing anxiety and fear in venous puncture]
Begoña Pérez-Moneo1, Marta Gayo Bellido1, Estefanía Barral Mena1
1Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Madrid, España.
Insights
Virtual reality (VR) headsets significantly reduced anxiety and fear in children during venipuncture. VR use also appeared to decrease pain perception without increasing procedure time or adverse effects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare research
- Medical technology integration
- Pain management innovations
Background:
- Venipuncture is a common and painful procedure for hospitalized children, causing significant distress.
- Up to 80% of pediatric hospital admissions involve procedures causing pain, primarily venipuncture.
- Effective pain and anxiety management strategies are crucial in pediatric care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of virtual reality (VR) headsets on pain, anxiety, and fear perception during pediatric venipuncture.
- To determine if VR intervention can improve the patient experience during a common medical procedure.
- To assess the efficacy of VR in mitigating procedural distress in children.
Main Methods:
- An open-label, randomized clinical trial was conducted with pediatric patients.
- Exclusion criteria included intellectual, visual, or hearing impairments.
- Pain, anxiety, and fear were measured using validated scales before and after the procedure; procedure success and duration were also recorded.
Main Results:
- 78 pediatric patients were included in the study.
- The VR intervention group showed a significant reduction in anxiety (MD: -2.59) and fear (MD: -0.85).
- While pain reduction was observed (MD: -0.85), it did not reach statistical significance in all analyses; procedure success and duration remained comparable to the control group.
Conclusions:
- Virtual reality (VR) headset use during venipuncture effectively decreases anxiety and fear in pediatric patients.
- VR appears to reduce pain perception during venipuncture without causing adverse effects.
- The implementation of VR does not negatively impact the success rate or duration of the venipuncture procedure.
Abstract:
Up to 80% of children admitted to a hospital experience pain, mainly associated with venipuncture.
Objective:
To analyze whether the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets during venipuncture can modify the perception of pain, anxiety, and fear in pediatrics.
Patients And Method:
Open label, randomized clinical trial. The presence of intellectual, visual, or hearing impairment were considered exclusion criteria. Two anxiety and fear scales were administered before and after the procedure, and the Wong-Baker face pain scale at the end. The following were recorded: number of venipuncture attempts, duration of the procedure, and side effects.
Results:
78 patients were included, 38 males and a mean age of 9.63 years. In the intervention group, the mean pain value was 2.87, with a mean difference (MD) of -0.85 compared with the control one (95% confidence interval (CI) -2.02 to 0.33). There was a significant reduction in the level of anxiety and fear, with MDs of -2.59 (95%CI: -3.92 to -1.26) and -0.85 points (95%CI: -1.45 to -0.24), respectively.
Conclusions:
the use of VR headsets in venipuncture in hospital daytime care decreases the level of anxiety and fear in children and seems to reduce pain, without adverse effects. The venipuncture procedure has the same success rate and does not increase its duration.
