Pilot Study of a Virtual Reality Educational Intervention for Radiotherapy Patients Prior to Initiating Treatment
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Pilot Study of a Virtual Reality Educational Intervention for Radiotherapy Patients Prior to Initiating Treatment Jiaqi Gao 1,2 & Shenglin Liu 1,2 & Sheng Zhang 3 & Ye Wang 3 & Zhiwen Liang 3 & Qingmin Feng 1,2 & Mengya Hu 1,2 & Qiang Zhang 1,2
# American Association for Cancer Education 2020
Abstract Virtual reality (VR) presents opportunities for innovative patient educational methods. This study used a combination of subjective questionnaires and objective physiological measures to investigate the impact of a VR radiotherapy (RT) educational system on patients’ understanding and anxiety prior to commencing RT. Sixty patients were randomized to control (n = 30) and intervention (n = 30) groups prior to initiating RT. The control group received the standard nursing care process. The intervention group additionally participated in a detailed introduction to RT positioning, procedures, treatments, and other RT-related information via VR education. All patients completed a data collection from pre- and postintervention, which included questions on RT comprehension, anxiety-related scales, and objective physiological data reflecting the patient’s psychological state, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. Both groups had high anxiety levels before the intervention, and there was no significant difference between the questionnaire and physiological data of the two groups. Following the intervention, anxiety scores (state-trait anxiety scale and visual analog scale) of the intervention group decreased significantly compared with those of the control group, and there was a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05) and increase in cognitive score (p < 0.05). This study reports the positive impact of a virtual reality radiotherapy (VRRT) patient educational system on increasing patient RT comprehension and reducing anxiety. Further work is needed to improve the acceptability of the system to patients and to explore further the impact of VR education on patients’ psychological and physical needs. Keywords Virtual reality . Radiation therapy . Patient education . Anxiety
Introduction Radiation therapy (RT) is currently the most common modality for treating tumors. With the increasing number of cancer patients, the demand for RT is growing. Meeting the needs of such a large group of patients is an urgent problem. Education for patients requiring RT is particularly important. The primary goal of RT patient education is meeting the emotional and
* Qiang Zhang [email protected] 1
Department of Medical Engineering, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
2
Healthcare Ergonomics Lab, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
3
Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
informational needs of patients undergoing the multistep RT experience. Providing sufficient information about the RT process can reduce bo
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