VR to Reduce Pain/Anxiety During IV Starts
Condition: Radiology
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study aims to test the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) as a non-pharmaceutical
      intervention to reduce pain and anxiety in children undergoing peripheral intravenous
      catheter (PIVC) access in the Department of Radiology and Imaging or the outpatient Infusion
      Center at CHLA, as measured by self- and proxy-report.
    

Detailed description: 
      Distraction is a form of non pharmacological intervention for reducing pain and anxiety in
      children during painful medical procedures (e.g., venipuncture, IV placement). Recent
      technological developments in the area of virtual reality (VR) provide new and potentially
      more effective ways of distracting children from the pain and anxiety associated with medical
      procedures. While initial studies of VR pain distraction are promising, few have studied the
      effectiveness of the technology in children, using a multi-method approach. The current study
      aims to recruit 115 children ages 10-21 years and their caregivers who arrive at the hospital
      for peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) access in the Department of Radiology and Imaging
      or the outpatient Infusion Center. Children and their parents will be randomly assigned to
      one of two treatment conditions: 1) existing hospital standard of care or 2) standard of care
      plus distraction via VR. Children and caregivers will be asked to complete measures assessing
      pain and anxiety both before and after the procedure. In addition, objective measures of
      child pain and distress during the PIVC access will be taken using coding of
      behavioral/verbal expressions. Univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) will be used to
      compare differences in primary and secondary outcome variables in VR + standard of care to
      standard of care only conditions when pre and post-operative measures are available.
      Univariate ANOVA will be used to compare conditions on post-operative variables.
    

Intervention name(s): Samsung Gear VR; Merge VR
Intervention type(s): Device; Device
Intervention description(s): Participants 13 -21 years old can use the Samsung Gear VR. The VE is mobile based (Samsung with the Gear VR) and has active matrix LCDs with high pixel resolution, creating a bright, vibrant color and a quality image. Participants will engage with BearBlast (appliedVR™), a multi-sensory VR game in which users travel on a pre-set path through a colorful, highly-interactive 3-D environment filled with animated landscapes, buildings, and clouds, during which the user's gaze controls the direction of a firing cannon to knock down teddy bears. The VR game is equipped with a head-tracking system, enabling the player to look around the VE. Therefore, the child will be receiving distraction via 3-D visual and auditory sensory, thus supplying a multi-sensory immersive experience. While wearing these glasses, the children only can see the HMD screen so that the immersion and presence will be increased. The VR glasses will be sanitized before every use to minimize chance of infection.; Participants 10-21 years can use the Merge. The VE to be used in this study is mobile based (Pixel with the Merge) and has active matrix LCDs with high pixel resolution, creating a bright, vibrant color and a quality image. Participants will engage with BearBlast (appliedVR™), a multi-sensory VR game in which users travel on a pre-set path through a colorful, highly-interactive 3-D environment filled with animated landscapes, buildings, and clouds, during which the user's gaze controls the direction of a firing cannon to knock down teddy bears. The VR game is equipped with a head-tracking system, enabling the player to look around the VE. Therefore, the child will be receiving distraction via 3-D visual and auditory sensory, thus supplying a multi-sensory immersive experience. While wearing these glasses, the children only can see the HMD screen so that the immersion and presence will be increased. The VR glasses will be sanitized before every use to minimize chance of infection.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: IV Stick; Pain; Anxiety; Virtual Reality; Radiology