Preoperative virtual reality education for children undergoing surgery: a randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Medical Education Technology
• Psychological Interventions

Background:

• Surgical procedures induce significant stress in children and their caregivers.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers a potential method for delivering preparatory information to mitigate perioperative fear and anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a VR-delivered animated educational video on perioperative anxiety and fear in children and their mothers.
• To assess the efficacy of VR in reducing physiological stress markers during the perioperative period.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 60 children (aged 7-13) and their mothers undergoing day surgery.
• Intervention group received a 5-minute VR animated educational video; control group received standard care.
• Measurements included fear scales, anxiety scales (MPAS-C, STAI-SF), and physiological parameters.

Main Results:

• Children in the VR group exhibited significantly lower fear scores post-procedure and post-surgery compared to the control group (p=0.002).
• VR intervention led to a greater reduction in children's anxiety scores over time (p<0.001).
• Maternal anxiety decreased in both groups, with no statistically significant additional benefit from the VR video (p=0.784).

Conclusions:

• VR-delivered animated educational videos are effective in reducing perioperative fear and anxiety in children undergoing surgery.
• The VR intervention also demonstrated a positive impact on certain physiological stress indicators in children.
• The VR intervention did not yield significant additional benefits for maternal anxiety levels in this study.