Journal Article Randomized Controlled Trial Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Epublish 25 citations
PubMed: 35436209 DOI: 10.2196/30260
Distracting Through Procedural Pain and Distress Using Virtual Reality and Guided Imagery in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Patients: Randomized Controlled Trial.
J Med Internet Res 24(4):e30260
Authors: Jennifer A Hoag, Jeffrey Karst, Kristin Bingen, Akasha Palou-Torres, Ke Yan
Affiliations
- Division of Pediatric Psychology and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Children with acute and chronic illness undergo frequent, painful, and distressing procedures.
OBJECTIVE
This randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate the effectiveness of guided imagery (GI) versus virtual reality (VR) on the procedural pain and state anxiety of children and young adults undergoing unsedated procedures. We explored the role of trait anxiety and pain catastrophizing in intervention response.
METHODS
Children and young adults were recruited from the hematology, oncology, and blood and marrow transplant clinics at a children's hospital. Each study participant completed the GI and VR intervention during separate but consecutive unsedated procedures. Self-report measures of pain and anxiety were completed before and after the procedures.
RESULTS
A total of 50 participants (median age 13 years) completed both interventions. GI and VR performed similarly in the management of procedural pain. Those with high pain catastrophizing reported experiencing less nervousness about pain during procedures that used VR than those using GI. State anxiety declined pre- to postprocedure in both interventions; however, the decrease reached the level of significance during the VR intervention only. Those with high trait anxiety had less pain during GI.
CONCLUSIONS
In our sample, VR worked as well as GI to manage the pain and distress associated with common procedures experienced by children with acute or chronic illnesses. Children who are primed for pain based on beliefs about pain or because of their history of chronic pain had a better response to VR. GI was a better intervention for those with high trait anxiety.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04892160; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04892160.
MeSH
Adolescent, Chronic Disease, Child, Imagery, Psychotherapy, Information Services, Catastrophization, Pain, Procedural, Virtual Reality
Cited by
- A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials on Virtual Reality Application in Pediatric Patients. Cureus, 2022
- Immersive and Non-Immersive Virtual Reality for Pain and Anxiety Management in Pediatric Patients with Hematological or Solid Cancer: A Systematic Review. Cancers (Basel), 2023
- Personalized Virtual Reality Compared With Guided Imagery for Enhancing the Impact of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Ment Health, 2024
- Feasibility, acceptability, patient experience, and preliminary efficacy of a virtual reality guided imagery intervention for chronic pain. Front Digit Health, 2025
- Virtual Reality as a Nonpharmacological Tool for Acute Pain Management: A Scoping Review. Innov Clin Neurosci, 2025
- Experiences of Second-Grade Primary School Children and Their Teachers in a Mind-Body Activity Program: A Descriptive Qualitative Study. Healthcare (Basel), 2024
- Extended Reality (XR) in Pediatric Acute and Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Evidence Gap Map. JMIR Pediatr Parent, 2025
- Psychological/behavioral interventions for emerging adults with chronic pain. Front Pain Res (Lausanne), 2024