Conectar
To study the effects of virtual reality (VR) on pain perception among a paediatric population while being vaccinated. We will also investigate the effects of VR on the fear experienced by children during the vaccination procedure, as well as parental satisfaction levels.
Many studies, for example, in the fields of oncology, dermatology or plastic surgery, have described the benefits of using VR to reduce the perception of pain among paediatric populations. These results are encouraging, but their main limitations were the small sample sizes they included or their methodological design.
This will be a randomised clinical trial.
SPIRIT guidelines were followed to report this protocol, and we will use the CONSORT and CONSORT-EHEALTH guidelines to report the randomised clinical trial. The sample will comprise 148 children aged 3–14 years who will come for vaccination at the Tres Forques Health Center. The participants will be randomly allocated into intervention group (VR; n = 74) or (the control group standard-of-care; n = 74) at a 1:1 ratio. The intervention group will view experiences with a VR headset as a distraction measure. The study variables will be the level of pain and fear perceived by the child during vaccination, parental satisfaction with the vaccination procedure, and sociodemographic and vaccination variables.
The start of the study is planned for September 2020, and the results will be expected in September 2021.
This study aims to identify what measures reduce pain and fear in children during vaccination, which in turn, can help to improve the degree of parental satisfaction with these procedures.
Vaccination is an independent function of the nursing profession. Identifying which distraction measures reduce the perception of pain and fear in the paediatric population will not only improve children's experiences but will also improve the satisfaction of both parents and children, thus increasing the degree of compliance with the vaccination schedule.
To determine the effect of immersive virtual reality (VR) on perceived pain and fear in children during vaccination and parental satisfaction with the procedure.
Virtual reality can reduce the perception of pain by children but only three studies have analysed its use during vaccination to date; these had small sample sizes and imperfect methodological designs.
A randomised controlled clinical trial.
One hundred and sixty participants from the Tres Forques Health Center were randomly assigned to the intervention group (IG) (n = 82) in which distraction with immersive VR was used during the vaccination, while standard distraction techniques were used for the control group (n = 80). The primary outcome was pain (Wong–Baker FACES). Secondary outcomes included (Children's Fear Scale) and parental satisfaction with the vaccination procedure. Chi-squared tests were used for qualitative variables, relationships between quantitative variables were tested with Spearman correlations, and Mann–Whitney U- or Student t-tests were employed to assess the relationship between quantitative and qualitative variables.
Compared to the controls, the children in the IG reported significantly less pain and fear, while parental satisfaction was significantly higher. Reported pain and fear did not differ according to the sex of the patient. Child age was not linked to fear but was related to pain: the younger the patient, the greater the pain they described.
Immersive VR effectively controlled pain and fear in children during vaccination and increased parent satisfaction with the vaccination process. Patient sex did not influence the level of pain and fear but age did.
Improving vaccination experiences can reduce perceived pain and fear in children and increase parent satisfaction, thereby enhancing vaccination schedule adherence and improving group immunity.
The CONSORT Statement for non-pharmacological randomised clinical trials were followed.
FreshRSS 