424291

Effect of smartphone – based virtual reality on relieving pain and anxiety in critically ill patients

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Last updated: 27 Apr 2025

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Abstract

Background: Pain and anxiety are significant issues in intensive care units. Virtual reality (VR) offers an immersive, interactive experience using mobile technology and 3D-enabled goggles, providing multisensory distraction that reduces anxiety and pain perception in critically ill patients. Objective: To determine the effect of smartphone-based immersive virtual reality on relieving pain and anxiety in critically ill patients. Design: A quasi-experimental research design was employed. Methods: A convenience sample of 120 critically ill patients was selected. Patients were equally assigned into two groups (intervention and control group). In the Intervention group, patients were subjected to virtual reality sessions, and in the control group, patients were subjected to deep breathing for relaxation technique as a traditional method. The intervention was done through a session that took 15 minutes at once. Patients' assessment was done by using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). Results: The mean pain and anxiety scores in the virtual reality intervention group decreased more than in the control group, with significant differences at different time intervals. Conclusion: VR therapy utilizing smartphones has positive effects in managing pain and anxiety in critically ill patients and it is recommended that critical care nurses should incorporate mobile-based immersive virtual reality as a novel method for pain relief.

DOI

10.21608/ejhc.2025.424291

Keywords

smartphone, Immersive Virtual Reality, Pain, anxiety, Critically Ill Patients

Authors

First Name

Intessar

Last Name

Mohamed Ahmad

MiddleName

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Affiliation

Assistant Professor of critical care and emergency nursing, critical care and emergency nursing department, Faculty of nursing, Damanhour University.

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First Name

Ahmed

Last Name

M Elmenshawy

MiddleName

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Affiliation

Assistant Professor of critical medicine department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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First Name

Samar

Last Name

Abd Elrazek

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Lecturer, critical care and emergency nursing department, Faculty of nursing, Damanhour University.

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-

City

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Orcid

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Volume

16

Article Issue

2

Related Issue

54524

Issue Date

2025-06-01

Receive Date

2025-04-24

Publish Date

2025-06-01

Page Start

142

Page End

154

Print ISSN

1687-9546

Online ISSN

3009-6766

Link

https://ejhc.journals.ekb.eg/article_424291.html

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http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=424291

Order

424,291

Type

Original Article

Type Code

631

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Health Care

Publication Link

https://ejhc.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Effect of smartphone – based virtual reality on relieving pain and anxiety in critically ill patients

Details

Type

Article

Created At

27 Apr 2025