Design Strategies for Virtual Reality Interventions for Managing Pain and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: Scoping Review

Naseem Ahmadpour; Melanie Keep; Anna Janssen; Anika Saiyara Rouf; Michael Marthick

doi:10.2196/14565

Design Strategies for Virtual Reality Interventions for Managing Pain and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: Scoping Review

JMIR Serious Games. 2020 Jan 31;8(1):e14565. doi: 10.2196/14565.

Authors

Naseem Ahmadpour¹, Melanie Keep², Anna Janssen³, Anika Saiyara Rouf⁴, Michael Marthick³

Affiliations

¹ Design Lab, Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
² Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
³ Research in Implementation Science and eHealth Group, Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

PMID: 32012042
PMCID: PMC7055787
DOI: 10.2196/14565

Abstract

Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology has been explored in the health sector as a novel tool for supporting treatment side effects, including managing pain and anxiety. VR has recently become more available with the launch of low-cost devices and apps.

Objective: This study aimed to provide an updated review of the research into VR use for pain and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing medical procedures. Specifically, we wanted to gain an understanding of the techniques and goals used in selecting or designing VR apps in this context.

Methods: We performed a scoping review. To identify relevant studies, we searched three electronic databases. Two authors screened the titles and abstracts for relevance and eligibility criteria.

Results: Overall, 1386 articles published between 2013 and 2018 were identified. In total 18 articles were included in the review, with 7 reporting significant reduction in pediatric pain or anxiety, 3 testing but finding no significant impact of the VR apps employed, and the rest not conducting any test of significance. We identified 9 articles that were based on VR apps specifically designed and tailored for pediatric patients. The findings were analyzed to develop a holistic model and describe the product, experience, and intervention aspects that need to be considered in designing such medical VR apps.

Conclusions: VR has been demonstrated to be a viable choice for managing pain and anxiety in a range of medical treatments. However, commercial products lack diversity and meaningful design strategies are limited beyond distraction techniques. We propose future VR interventions to explore skill-building goals in apps characterized by dynamic feedback to the patient and experiential and product qualities that enable them to be an active participant in managing their own care. To achieve this, design must be part of the development.

Keywords: adolescents; anxiety; children; design; distraction; pain; virtual reality.

©Naseem Ahmadpour, Melanie Keep, Anna Janssen, Anika Saiyara Rouf, Michael Marthick. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (http://games.jmir.org), 31.01.2020.

Publication types

Review