Immersive virtual reality reduces cancer-related pain, distress
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Key takeaways:
- A literature review found immersive virtual reality can have positive effects on anticipatory anxiety symptoms and pain.
- Limited evidence could be drawn regarding effectiveness of immersive virtual reality.
Virtual reality interventions can serve as acceptable treatments with the potential to improve both physical and psychological consequences of certain long-term illnesses, according to a study published in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.
However, more studies are needed to better understand the potential relationship between virtual reality (VR) and its effectiveness in reducing pain and anxiety among certain patients with cancer, while also showing the benefit of adding VR intervention to treatment plans, according to researchers.
“The important thing is that VR offers a potential alternative to pharmaceutical interventions for managing pain and anxiety related to medical conditions,” Martin Dempster, PhD, CPsychol, CStat, SFHEA, professor of psychology applied to health and illness and director of education at Queen’s University Belfast, told Healio. “We are not suggesting that VR should completely replace pharmaceuticals but that it could perhaps reduce the need for these drugs, thereby avoiding problems arising from the interactions between different drugs.”
Background and methodology
Individuals with chronic physical illness have an increased risk for negative psychological sequelae, and immersive VR has shown potential to reduce such negative effects and increase the quality of life among persons with long-term physical illness.
Researchers reviewed published literature examining the use of immersive VR in adults with chronic physical illness to better understand how immersive VR is used to improve the psychological well-being of those with chronic physical illness and what effects it has.
Researchers conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis — including Ovid Medline/PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus — between July 1993 and March 2023.
Results, next steps
The researchers identified 12,811 articles, 31 of which met inclusion criteria. Sixteen items involved patients with cancer, five with dementia, four with cardiovascular disease, two with multiple sclerosis, two with kidney disease and one each with either inflammatory bowel disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The studies included a range of 30 to 50 patients (75% women) with an average age of 51 years. On average, one virtual reality session lasted approximately 20 minutes.
Researchers found immersive VR to be acceptable and feasible and that it can have positive effects on anticipatory anxiety symptoms and pain.
However, a high number of studies reviewed examined feasibility or served as pilot studies, causing evidence about the effectiveness to be limited.
Investigators noted no adverse events related to VR interventions reported during any of the studies in their analysis.
Researchers also reported several study limitations, including small sample sizes, constrained recruitment methods, a limited number of controlled studies in their sample, non-uniform treatment protocols and variability in the outcome measurements used in the studies evaluated.
“We need more high-quality studies testing the effectiveness of VR in alleviating pain and anxiety so that we can understand how effective they are in relation to other treatment options,” Dempster told Healio. “A cost-effective analysis of the different treatment options will also need to be considered.”
For more information:
Martin Dempster, PhD, CPsychol, CStat, SFHEA, can be reached at Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK; email: m.dempster@qub.ac.uk.
References:
- Immersive virtual reality seems to ease cancer patients’ pain and distress (press release). Available at: https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/immersive-virtual-reality-seems-to-ease-cancer-patients-pain-and-distress/. Published Oct. 17, 2023. Accessed Oct. 24, 2023.
Collapse
McGhee WRG, et al. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2023;doi:10.1136/spcare-2023-004502.
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