Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T18:54:38.634Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Virtual reality as a distraction technique for pain and anxiety among patients with breast cancer: A randomized control trial

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2018

Eslam Bani Mohammad
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
Muayyad Ahmad*
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
*
Author for correspondence: Muayyad Ahmad, Ph.D., R.N., Clinical Nursing Department, School of Nursing, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan 11942. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Abstract

Objective

The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of immersive virtual reality (VR) distraction technology in reducing pain and anxiety among female patients with breast cancer.

Method

A randomized control trial design was used with a sample of 80 female patients with breast cancer at a specialized cancer center in Jordan. Participants were randomly assigned into intervention and comparison groups.

Result

The study findings showed that one session of the immersive VR plus morphine made a significant reduction in pain and anxiety self-reported scores, compared with morphine alone, in breast cancer patients.

Significance of results

Immersive VR is an effective distraction intervention for managing pain and anxiety among breast cancer patients. Using immersive VR as an adjuvant intervention is more effective than morphine alone in relieving pain and anxiety; furthermore, VR is a safe intervention more than pharmacological treatment.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahmad, M and Dardas, L (2016) Nursing in the Arab World: An aspiration for a culturally-sensitive nursing model. In Conceptual models of nursing: Global perspectives. Fitzpatrick, J and Whall, A (eds.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson.Google Scholar
Ahmad, M, Alasad, J, and Nawafleh, H (2010) Nursing care and quality of life among Jordanian patients with cancer. Leadership in Health Services 23(3), 233243.Google Scholar
Ahmad, M, Dardas, L, and Ahmad, H (2015) Cancer prevention and care: A national sample from Jordan. Journal of Cancer Education 30(2), 301311.Google Scholar
Al Qadire, M, Tubaishat, A, and Aljezawi, M (2013) Cancer pain in Jordan: Prevalence and adequacy of treatment. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 19(3), 125130.Google Scholar
Arrieta, O, Angulo, P, Nunez-Valencia, C, et al. (2013) Association of depression and anxiety on quality of life, treatment adherence, and prognosis in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Annals of Surgical Oncology 20(6), 19411948.Google Scholar
Balsamo, M, Romanelli, R, Innamorati, M, et al. (2013) The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: Shadows and lights on its construct validity. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 35(4), 475486.Google Scholar
Baños, M, Espinoza, M, García-Palacios, A, et al. (2013) A positive psychological intervention using virtual reality for patients with advanced cancer in a hospital setting: a pilot study to assess feasibility. Supportive Care in Cancer 21(1), 263270.Google Scholar
Beikmoradi, A, Najafi, F, Roshanaei, G, et al. (2015) Acupressure and anxiety in cancer patients. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal 17(3).Google Scholar
Buratt, V, Angelino, F, Sansoni, J, et al. (2015) Distraction as a technique to control pain in pediatric patients during venipuncture. A narrative review of literature. Professioni infermieristiche 68(1).Google Scholar
Caraceni, A, Hanks, R, Kaasa, S, et al. (2012) Use of opioid analgesics in the treatment of cancer pain: Evidence-based recommendations from the EAPC. Lancet Oncology 13(2), e58e68.Google Scholar
Chan, A, Chung, W, Wong, K, et al. (2007) Application of a virtual reality prototype for pain relief of pediatric burn in Taiwan. Journal of Clinical Nursing 16(4), 786793.Google Scholar
Chan, Y and Scharf, S (2017) Virtual reality as an adjunctive nonpharmacological sedative during orthopedic surgery under regional anesthesia: A pilot and feasibility study. Anesthesia & Analgesia 4, 12001202.Google Scholar
Cherry, B and Jacob, R (2016) Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management. Elsevier Health Sciences.Google Scholar
Chirico, A, Lucidi, F, De Laurentiis, M, et al. (2016) Virtual reality in health system: Beyond entertainment. A Mini-review on the efficacy of VR during cancer treatment. Journal of Cellular Physiology 231(2), 275287.Google Scholar
Davison, A and Gerald, C (2008) Abnormal psychology. Toronto: Veronica Visentin.Google Scholar
Demir, Y (2012) Non-pharmacological therapies in pain management, pain management current issues and opinions. Croatia: InTech.Google Scholar
Faul, F, Erdfelder, E, Lang, G, et al. (2007) G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods 39(2), 175191.Google Scholar
Ferrell, R, Coyle, N, and Paice, J (2015) Oxford textbook of palliative nursing. Cambridge: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gagnon, M, Stanos, P, van der Ende, G, et al. (2013) Treatment outcomes for workers compensation patients in a US-based interdisciplinary pain management program. Pain Practice 13(4), 282288.Google Scholar
Gromala, D, Tong, X, Choo, A, et al. (2015) The virtual meditative walk: Virtual reality therapy for chronic pain management. Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 521524.Google Scholar
Haraldstad, K, Sørum, R, Eide, H, et al. (2011) Pain in children and adolescents: Prevalence, impact on daily life, and parents' perception, a school survey. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences 25(1), 2736.Google Scholar
Hoffman, G, Richards, L, Van Oostrom, T, et al. (2007) The analgesic effects of opioids and immersive virtual reality distraction: Evidence from subjective and functional brain imaging assessments. Anesthesia & Analgesia 105(6), 17761783.Google Scholar
Hudson, F, Ogden, J, and Whiteley, S (2015) Randomized controlled trial to compare the effect of simple distraction interventions on pain and anxiety experienced during conscious surgery. European Journal of Pain 19(10), 14471455.Google Scholar
IBM Corporation (2012) IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 21.0. Armonk: NY: IBM Corp.Google Scholar
Jordan Cancer Registry (JCR) (2013) Cancer Incidence in Jordan. Amman: Ministry of Health, Jordan. Available from http://www.moh.gov.jo/Echobusv3.0/SystemAssets/c602eda7-0c36-49cd-bea1-3484e46c0b97.pdf.Google Scholar
Jensen, P (2003) The validity and reliability of pain measures in adults with cancer. The Journal of Pain 4(1), 221.Google Scholar
Julian, J (2011) Measures of anxiety: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety (HADS-A). Arthritis Care & Research 63(S11), S467S472.Google Scholar
Khan, F, Ward, M, Watson, E, et al. (2010) Consulting and prescribing behaviour for anxiety and depression in long-term survivors of cancer in the UK. European Journal of Cancer 46(18), 33393344.Google Scholar
Knight, G, Waal-Manning, J & Spears, F (1983) Some norms and reliability data for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Zung Self-Rating Depression scale. British Journal of Clinical Psychology 4(22), 245249.Google Scholar
Kurlowicz, L & Wallace, M (1990) The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Journal of Gerontological Nursing 25(5), 89.Google Scholar
Li, A, Montaño, Z, Chen, J, et al. (2011) Virtual reality and pain management: Current trends and future directions. Pain 1(2), 147157.Google Scholar
Lim, C, Devi, K & Ang, E (2011) Anxiety in women with breast cancer undergoing treatment: A systematic review. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare 9(3), 215235.Google Scholar
Marquess, M, Johnston, P, Williams, L, et al. (2017) A pilot study to determine if the use of a virtual reality education module reduces anxiety and increases comprehension in patients receiving radiation therapy. Journal of Radiation Oncology 6(3), 317322.Google Scholar
McGuire, A, Brown, A, Malone, C, et al. (2015) Effects of age on the detection and management of breast cancer. Cancer 7(2), 908929.Google Scholar
Merriam-Webster (2017) Distraction. Merriam-Webster.com. Available from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distraction.Google Scholar
Morris, LD, Louw, A & Grimmer-Somers, K (2009) The effectiveness of virtual reality on reducing pain and anxiety in burn injury patients: a systematic review. The Clinical Journal of Pain 25(9), 815826.Google Scholar
Moskaliuk, J, Kimmerle, J & Cress, U (2010) Virtual Reality 2.0 and its application in knowledge building. In Handbook of research on Web 2.0, 3.0, and X. 0: Technologies, business, and social applications, pp. 573592 (Murugesan, S, Eds.). PA, USA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-60566-384-5.ch032.Google Scholar
Omran, S, Saeed, M & Simpson, J (2012) Symptom distress of Jordanian patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy. International Journal of Nursing Practice 18(2), 125132.Google Scholar
Ovayolu, N, Ovayolu, Ö, Serçe, S, et al. (2013) Pain and quality of life in Turkish cancer patients. Nursing & Health Sciences 15(4), 437443.Google Scholar
Pandya, G, Kim, E, Howard, K, et al. (2017) Virtual reality distraction decreases routine intravenous sedation and procedure-related pain during preoperative adductor canal catheter insertion: A retrospective study. Korean Journal of Anesthesiology 70(4), 439445.Google Scholar
Platt, M, Whitburn, I, Platt-Koch, G, et al. (2016) Nonpharmacological alternatives to benzodiazepine drugs for the treatment of anxiety in outpatient populations: A literature review. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services 54(8), 3542.Google Scholar
Portenoy, K (2011) Treatment of cancer pain. The Lancet 377(9784), 22362247.Google Scholar
Schneider, M, Kisby, K & Flint, P. (2011) Effect of virtual reality on time perception in patients receiving chemotherapy. Supportive Care in Cancer 19(4), 555564.Google Scholar
Shahrbanian, S, Ma, X, Korner-Bitensky, N, et al. (2009) Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of virtual reality for pain reduction in adults with acute or chronic pain. Studies in Health Technology Informatics 144, 4043.Google Scholar
Siegel, L, Miller, D & Jemal, A (2016) Cancer statistics, 2016. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 66(1), 730.Google Scholar
Sivabalan, T & Upasani, V (2016) Effectiveness of nursing interventions on physical and psychological outcome among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Journal of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (JKIMSU) 5(2).Google Scholar
Spencer, R, Nilsson, M, Wright, A, et al. (2010) Anxiety disorders in advanced cancer patients. Cancer 116(7), 18101819.Google Scholar
Spielberger, D (2012) State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults. Available from http://www.mindgarden.com/products/staisad.htm.Google Scholar
Spielberger, D, Gorsuch, L & Lushene, E (1983) Manual for the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y). CA, USA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Trescot, A, Datta, S, Lee, M, et al. (2008) Opioid pharmacology. Pain Physician 11(2 Suppl), S133S153.Google Scholar
Wiederhold, K, Gao, K, Sulea, C, et al. (2014) Virtual reality as a distraction technique in chronic pain patients. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 17(6), 346352.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2017) WHO's cancer pain ladder for adults. Available from http://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/painladder/en/Google Scholar
Wrobel, N & Farrag, M (2012) Preliminary validation of an Arabic version of the MMSE in the elderly. Clinical Gerontologist 31(3), 7593. doi:10.1080/07317110802072223Google Scholar