Author/Authors :
Ghaddaripouri ، Kosar Department of Health Information Technology - Varastegan Institute of Medical Sciences , Mousavi Baigi ، Fatemeh Department of Medical Records and Health Information Technology - School of Paramedical Sciences - Mashhad University of Medical Sciences , Noori ، Nazanin Department of Health Information Technology - Varastegan Institute of Medical Sciences , Mazaheri Habibi ، Mohammad Reza Department of Health Information Technology - Varastegan Institute for Medical Sciences
Abstract :
Introduction: Many children may experience anxiety in treatment settings, especially in situations such as before surgery, dentistry and radiology. Virtual reality technology can provide a platform for reducing children s anxiety by creating a sense of presence in an unreal world. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of virtual reality technology on reducing anxiety in children. Material and Methods: A systematic review of randomized clinical trial studies was conducted in English without any time limitation by searching for keywords in the reputable scientific databases PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE and Web of Science on September 12, 2021. Studies using virtual reality technology to reduce pediatric treatment anxiety were considered as inclusion criteria. Titles and abstracts were screened independently based on eligibility criteria. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs institute (JBI) checklist. After that, complete texts were retrieved and independently reviewed based on eligibility criteria. Results: A total of 197 related articles were obtained, 10 of which were relevant to the objectives of the research. Input studies included a total of 882 children aged 4 to 12 years. In 7 studies, virtual reality has helped reduce children s anxiety during treatment (70%). In 3 of the studied studies, no improvement was seen in reducing children s anxiety (30%). Of the studies found, 3 were related to reducing anxiety in dentistry, 4 were related to preoperative anxiety, 2 were related to radiographic anxiety, and 1 was related to preoperative anesthesia. Conclusion: The results of systematic review show that virtual reality can make the treatment process more satisfactory and help manage their behavior by creating calmness and distraction, while reducing anxiety in children. However, due to the small sample size (small number of input studies), the evidence is not sufficient to prove the effectiveness of virtual reality in reducing pediatric treatment anxiety. Future studies are proposed to compare the effect of virtual reality technology on reducing treatment anxiety in different age groups.
Keywords :
Anxiety , Virtual Reality , Child , Intelligent Health
