Immersive and Non-Immersive Virtual Reality for Pain and Anxiety Management in Pediatric Patients with Hematological or Solid Cancer: A Systematic Review

Comparcini, Dania, Simonetti, Valentina, Galli, Francesco, Saltarella, Ilaria, Altamura, Concetta, Tomietto, Marco, Desaphy, Jean-François and Cicolini, Giancarlo (2023) Immersive and Non-Immersive Virtual Reality for Pain and Anxiety Management in Pediatric Patients with Hematological or Solid Cancer: A Systematic Review. Cancers, 15 (3). ISSN 2072-6694

[img]
Preview
Text
cancers-15-00985.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (722kB) | Preview
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030985

Abstract

Invasive and painful procedures, which often induce feelings of anxiety, are necessary components of pediatric cancer treatment, and adequate pain and anxiety management during these treatments is of pivotal importance. In this context, it is widely recognized that a holistic approach, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological modalities, such as distraction techniques, should be the standard of care. Recent evidence suggested the use of virtual reality (VR) as an effective non-pharmacological intervention in pediatrics. Therefore, this systematic review aims to analyze previously published studies on the effectiveness of VR for the management of pain and/or anxiety in children and adolescents with hematological or solid cancer. Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science, ProQuest, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were used to search for relevant studies in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. Randomized controlled trial, crossover trial, cluster randomized trial, and quasi-experimental studies were included. Thirteen studies, published between 1999 and 2022, that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included. Regarding the primary outcomes measured, pain was considered in five studies, anxiety in three studies, and the remaining five studies analyzed the effectiveness of VR for both pain and anxiety reduction. Our findings suggested a beneficial effect of VR during painful vascular access procedures. Limited data are available on the reduction of anxiety in children with cancer.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: virtual reality, pain, anxiety, pediatric, cancer
Subjects: A300 Clinical Medicine
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Nursing, Midwifery and Health
Depositing User: John Coen
Date Deposited: 03 Feb 2023 12:30
Last Modified: 03 Feb 2023 12:30
URI: https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/51312

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics