Virtual Reality for Pain Relief in Children During Vaccination: Randomized Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Pain Management
• Clinical Trial Methodology
• Virtual Reality in Healthcare

Background:

• Intramuscular vaccinations can cause significant pain and distress in children.
• Traditional pain management strategies for vaccinations have limitations.
• Immersive virtual reality (IVR) presents a novel approach to mitigate procedural pain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of a randomized clinical trial (RCT) assessing IVR effectiveness in reducing pain during pediatric vaccinations.
• To determine sample size requirements for a full-scale RCT.
• To explore secondary outcomes including pain perception, vaccination behavior, and IVR acceptability.

Main Methods:

• Pilot randomized controlled trial with an open-label design.
• Involved three phases: proposal presentation, nursing technician training, and the pilot study.
• Assessed feasibility, sample size, self-reported pain, vaccination behavior, and IVR acceptability.

Main Results:

• High rates of eligibility, recruitment, and adherence confirmed feasibility for a full-scale RCT.
• 74% of children using IVR reported no pain versus 24% in the control group.
• Children using IVR exhibited less pronounced distress behaviors during vaccination.

Conclusions:

• The pilot study successfully demonstrated the feasibility of conducting a large-scale RCT on IVR for vaccination pain.
• Immersive virtual reality headsets show significant potential as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing pain in children during vaccinations.