The effect of virtual reality on mothers' anxiety during children's circumcision: A randomized controlled study

Abstract

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of use of virtual reality headsets on mothers' anxiety, by distracting their attention, during their child's circumcision procedure. DESIGN: This was a randomized controlled intervention study. METHODS: The study used a pretest and posttest design and was carried out between April 15, 2019, and June 30, 2019, with 60 participants (n = 30 intervention and n = 30 control group). The data were collected using a personal information form, the State Anxiety Inventory and Faces Anxiety Scales. In the study, the participants in the intervention group watched videos through a virtual reality headset. RESULTS: The socio-demographic characteristics of the intervention group and control group were similar in the pretest, except for the educational level. After the intervention, the intervention group's mean scores on the Faces Anxiety Scale, heart rate and respiration rates were significantly lower than those of the control group, but the difference between the mean State Anxiety Inventory scores was insignificant. CONCLUSION: Distraction using videos produced by virtual reality headsets is effective in reducing mothers' moderate level anxiety. It is recommended that further studies should be conducted in different ambulatory surgery procedures.