Virtual Reality as a Distraction Method for Children During Medical Procedures

Existing studies are primarily quantitative or focus on the perspectives of parents or healthcare professionals. Children’s own experiences of using VR as a distraction during medical procedures are almost entirely absent.

To explore the experiences of children, caregivers, and healthcare professionals regarding VR as a distraction method, data will be collected from all three groups. Interviews will be conducted with children from pediatric clinics and primary care centres that offer VR distraction during medical procedures. The children should have been offered VR technology and either used it or actively declined its use. Focus groups or individual interviews will be conducted with healthcare professionals from the same units who have employed VR as a distraction during pediatric medical procedures. Questionnaires will be distributed via email to caregivers who were present during the VR distraction.

Medical procedures that may be included are blood sampling, insertion of venous catheters, vaccinations, wound dressing, wound suturing, removal of stitches or staples, and removal of foreign bodies (e.g., splinters).

During the interviews, children will have the opportunity to describe and articulate their experiences. They may feel that they are being listened to and taken seriously. The children may also feel contributing to the improvement of distraction methods that could help other children in the future, which may strengthen their self-confidence. If VR technology can distract children during distressing medical procedures, this may lead to fewer stressed children, reduced need for sedative medication, shorter healthcare visits, and diminished fear of future medical encounters. When children do not need to expend energy on worry and fear, their sense of self-worth may be strengthened, promoting positive development. Children with chronic illnesses may become more receptive to information and more willing to participate in their own care. The transition to adult healthcare may thus become easier, and the burden on society reduced. The results of the study will contribute to increased knowledge about VR, identifying which children and in which situations VR may be effective.

The project was initiated within the framework of CareWare Nordic, a collaborative project between Swedish and Danish actors supported by the EU-funded Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak program. Within this context, work began on researching and implementing VR technology for children, which is now being further developed into a research project.