Can virtual reality reduce pain and anxiety in pediatric emergency care and promote positive response of parents of children? A quasi-experimental study
Marta Ferraz‐Torres, Nelia Soto‐Ruiz, Paula Escalada‐Hernández, Cristina García‐Vivar, Leticia San Martín‐Rodríguez
Abstract
To evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality to reduce pain and anxiety in pediatric patients during venipuncture procedure in emergency care and the behavioral response of their parents/companions. Virtual reality is being used as a source of distraction in children undergoing invasive procedures. Quasi-experimental study with 458 children (from 2 to 15 years) who attended a pediatric emergency service from September 2019 to April 2021. An intervention based on virtual reality as a distraction method during venipuncture procedure was applied. The level of pain and anxiety of children and attitude of parents/companions were assessed. Ordinal and binary logistic regressions were applied. A protective effect of using virtual reality was observed in the intervention group both for the absence of pain (−4.12; 95 % CI: −4.85 to −3.40) and anxiety (−1.71; 95 % CI: −2.24 to −1.17) in children aged between 2 and 15 years. A significant reduction in the blocking response of the accompanying parents (−2.37; 95 % CI: −3.017 to −1.723) was also observed. VR is effective in reducing pain and anxiety in children during venipuncture in emergency care. A positive attitude of the parents during the invasive procedure to their children was found.