The Effect of Virtual Reality on Anxiety and Fatigue in Women With Breast Cancer Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy
Condition: Breast Cancer Female; Anxiety; Fatigue
MeSH terms: Breast Neoplasms; Fatigue; Anxiety Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      It was aimed to determine the effect of virtual reality glasses application on anxiety and
      fatigue in women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy.
    

Detailed description: 
      The number of women with breast cancer worldwide is increasing day by day. Uncertainty of the
      efficacy of treatment, difficulty in accepting the disease, financial difficulties, insomnia,
      fear and anxiety about the future, concentration disorder, feeling angry, focusing on
      thoughts of illness and death, irregularities in work and family life, emergence of treatment
      Their quality of life is adversely affected due to many conditions such as worrying about
      side effects and loss of appetite. The disease process should be managed correctly before
      these symptoms related to treatment occur in patients. Anxiety and fatigue are the leading
      symptoms that limit the activities of daily living and significantly affect the social lives
      of patients receiving chemotherapy for the first time after the diagnosis of breast cancer.
      46%-71% of patients diagnosed with cancer experience anxiety and 80%-90% fatigue during
      chemotherapy. Nurses, who are health professionals, use non-pharmacological methods as well
      as pharmacological methods in the prevention and management of symptoms during the
      chemotherapy treatment process. Non-pharmacological methods include practices such as
      meditation, yoga, hypnosis, prayer, relaxation techniques, daydreaming, and cognitive
      behavioral therapies that involve distraction. With these cognitive behavioral therapies,
      nurses aim to strengthen the self-care of cancer patients, increase adherence to the disease,
      develop effective coping methods, manage chemotherapy-related side effects, and increase hope
      and belief. With the method of distraction, which is frequently used from cognitive
      behavioral therapies, it is aimed to focus on another stimulus and to get away from negative
      feelings and thoughts. Recently, virtual reality application has been used frequently in the
      field of health for the method of distraction. Virtual reality is defined as the human
      computer interface that makes it feel as if it is in another universe with tools. The
      three-dimensional screen provides the attention of the person with the virtual reality
      stimuli with the motion detection system. The virtual reality application that attracts
      attention is preferred because it is a non-invasive intervention, has an affordable cost, and
      is effective in the motivation and well-being of the individual. In the meta-analysis of
      cancer-related symptom management, virtual reality applications, which do not require any
      special training, were found to increase tolerance to chemotherapy, to be effective in
      symptom management, to increase quality of life, and to enable acceptance of chronic disease.
      In the study, it was also stated that virtual reality applications were effective in reducing
      anxiety, depression, pain and cognitive function symptoms, although not effective in reducing
      fatigue, it was beneficial, and no serious side effects were reported. It is seen that the
      studies were designed as a single-time measurement, non-randomized research design, and a
      single-group pre-test-post-test. In this study, which aims to evaluate the effect of virtual
      reality glasses application on anxiety and fatigue in women with breast cancer receiving
      adjuvant chemotherapy, it is planned to increase the level of evidence of virtual reality
      glasses application by making multiple measurements and to evaluate fatigue with physical,
      emotional and cognitive sub-dimensions. In addition, this study is important in terms of
      increasing the awareness of oncology nurses who care for breast cancer patients about virtual
      reality application and integrating the method of distraction with virtual reality
      application into standard care. It is thought that it is useful and appropriate for the nurse
      to manage the distraction method with the virtual reality application, which is a
      non-invasive intervention, does not require specific skills, and has no serious side effects.
      For this purpose, it was planned to determine the effect of virtual reality glasses
      application on anxiety and fatigue in women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant
      chemotherapy.
    

Intervention name(s): Virtual Reality Glasses
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Virtual Reality Glasses
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Prospective randomized controlled clinical trial
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: Virtual reality; Distraction; Anxiety; Fatigue; Nursing