NCT07280910

Exploring Virtual Reality in Clinical Care - Impacts on Patient Distress, Parental Anxiety and Nurse Satisfaction

Retrospective Observational Study Analyzing De-identified Data Originally Collected as Part of a Quality Improvement (QI) Initiative.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 168 (actual)
• Sponsor: Virginia Commonwealth University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 6 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Prior experience with virtual reality (VR) in clinical care has demonstrated its potential to reduce patient anxiety and distress, particularly in pediatric settings. VR has been shown to effectively decrease preoperative anxiety in children undergoing various medical procedures, including IV catheter replacement, blood draws, and improve their compliance with anesthesia and overall procedural experiences. Limited evidence exists regarding the impact of VR on the broader care environment, including parental anxiety and nursing satisfaction in pediatric settings.

Detailed description

This retrospective study analyzes de-identified data from a nine-month quality improvement initiative to evaluate the impact of a custom VR intervention on pediatric preoperative anxiety, parental anxiety, and nurse satisfaction in a real clinical setting. The findings offer preliminary, practice-relevant evidence that VR can be a feasible, acceptable, and clinically meaningful non-pharmacologic tool in pediatric preoperative care, and they provide actionable insights to guide future implementation efforts and rigorous trials aimed at improving the hospital experience for children, families, and providers.

Conditions

• Anxiety

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Virtual Reality	Administered as part of a QI initiative aimed at reducing anxiety in pediatric patients during clinical care. The intervention involved using a VR system to provide a distraction and relaxation tool during routine procedures. This approach is consistent with recent research showing that VR can be an effective tool for reducing pain and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing medical procedures. Retrospective data collection.
BEHAVIORAL	Survey Responses/Parent Caregivers	Survey responses from parents regarding anxiety and satisfaction.
BEHAVIORAL	Survey Responses/Nurses	Survey responses from nurses regarding anxiety and satisfaction.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-10-01
• Primary completion: 2024-06-30
• Completion: 2024-06-30
• First posted: 2025-12-12
• Last updated: 2025-12-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States