The effect of virtual reality versus standard‐of‐care treatment on pain perception during paediatric vaccination: A randomised controlled trial

Abstract

AbstractAims and ObjectivesTo determine the effect of immersive virtual reality (VR) on perceived pain and fear in children during vaccination and parental satisfaction with the procedure.BackgroundVirtual reality can reduce the perception of pain by children but only three studies have analysed its use during vaccination to date; these had small sample sizes and imperfect methodological designs.DesignA randomised controlled clinical trial.MethodsOne hundred and sixty participants from the Tres Forques Health Center were randomly assigned to the intervention group (IG) (n = 82) in which distraction with immersive VR was used during the vaccination, while standard distraction techniques were used for the control group (n = 80). The primary outcome was pain (Wong–Baker FACES). Secondary outcomes included (Children's Fear Scale) and parental satisfaction with the vaccination procedure. Chi‐squared tests were used for qualitative variables, relationships between quantitative variables were tested with Spearman correlations, and Mann–Whitney U‐ or Student t‐tests were employed to assess the relationship between quantitative and qualitative variables.ResultsCompared to the controls, the children in the IG reported significantly less pain and fear, while parental satisfaction was significantly higher. Reported pain and fear did not differ according to the sex of the patient. Child age was not linked to fear but was related to pain: the younger the patient, the greater the pain they described.ConclusionsImmersive VR effectively controlled pain and fear in children during vaccination and increased parent satisfaction with the vaccination process. Patient sex did not influence the level of pain and fear but age did.Relevance to clinical practiceImproving vaccination experiences can reduce perceived pain and fear in children and increase parent satisfaction, thereby enhancing vaccination schedule adherence and improving group immunity.Reporting MethodThe CONSORT Statement for non‐pharmacological randomised clinical trials were followed.