Investigating Demographic Barriers Toward Virtual Reality Pain Efficacy in Clinical Trials: An Exploratory...

Area of Science:

• Pain Management
• Health Technology
• Health Equity

Background:

• Chronic pain impacts millions, with opioids carrying misuse risks.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers a non-pharmacological alternative for pain management.
• Concerns exist regarding equitable access to VR therapy and potential healthcare disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate barriers and facilitators to VR therapy in diverse chronic pain populations.
• Examine correlations between challenges and changes in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pain Interference (PROMIS-PI) scores.
• Assess the acceptability and benefits of VR therapy across demographic groups.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory sequential mixed-methods study.
• 31 participants from NIH-funded trials with purposive sampling for demographic diversity.
• One-on-one interviews qualitatively coded and quantified, correlated with PROMIS-PI changes (baseline to week 8).

Main Results:

• Six themes emerged: apprehension, usability, application, experiences, personal connection, and community beliefs.
• Most participants reported temporary pain relief with VR (distraction/mindfulness content beneficial).
• Key barriers identified: cost, technological literacy, and cultural familiarity. No significant correlation found between demographics/themes and PROMIS-PI changes.

Conclusions:

• VR therapy is broadly acceptable and beneficial for diverse chronic pain patients.
• Cost and cultural apprehension hinder equitable adoption of VR therapy.
• Future research should address user comfort, technological support, and access barriers for equitable VR therapy implementation.