Schneider, S. M., & Hood, L. E. (2007). Virtual reality: a distraction intervention for chemotherapy. Oncology Nursing Forum, 34, 39–46.
Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-simulated technique during which individuals wear a head-mounted device and become immersed in scenarios through visual and auditory stimuli that they manipulate. Patients wore a VR headset during an intravenous (IV) chemotherapy treatment and chose from the following scenarios:
Each scenario was long enough to last the entire length of the chemotherapy infusion (45–90 minutes). Patients were free to change scenarios at any time. During the control and VR conditions, patients sat in a reclining treatment chair. In the control condition, patients were free to participate in any activities they chose during treatment, such as watching television, talking with others, or reading. Patients were randomly assigned to receive the VR distraction intervention during one chemotherapy treatment and to receive the control (no intervention) during an alternate matched chemotherapy treatment. Outcomes were assessed at baseline (T1), immediately after chemotherapy (T2), and 48 hours postchemotherapy (T3).
Outpatient clinic at a comprehensive cancer center in southeastern United States
Patients were undergoing the active treatment phase of care.
The study used a randomized, crossover, within-subjects design with a:
Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS)
The VR intervention did not improve fatigue outcomes. Although the treatment group experienced a greater decline than the control from T1 to T2, the difference did not reach statistical significance.