Schneider S M, Workman M L
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-4904, USA.
Cyberpsychol Behav. 1999;2(2):125-34. doi: 10.1089/cpb.1999.2.125.
This study tested the premise that virtual reality (VR) as a distraction intervention could mitigate chemotherapy-related symptom distress in children with cancer aged 10-17 years. Cancer treatments are intensive and difficult to endure. Distraction interventions are effective because the individual concentrates on pleasant or interesting stimuli instead of focusing on unpleasant symptoms. VR as a distraction intervention is both immersive and interactive. For this study the individual wore a Virtual IO(R) headset during a single intravenous chemotherapy treatment. Participants chose one of three commercially available, CD ROM-based scenarios: Magic Carpet, Sherlock Holmes Mystery, and Seventh Guest(R). An interrupted time series design with removed treatment was used to answer these research questions: (1) Is VR an effective distraction intervention for reducing chemotherapy-related symptom distress in children? and (2) Does VR have a lasting effect? The convenience sample consisted of 11 children receiving outpatient chemotherapy. The Symptom Distress Scale (SDS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC-1) were used to measure the dependent variable of symptom distress. Repeated-measures ANOVA were used for data analysis. Data analysis of the SDS suggested that the VR intervention was effective at reducing the level of symptom distress immediately following the chemotherapy treatment (p <.10), but did not have a lasting effect. Analysis of the STAIC-1 demonstrated high levels of anxiety during the initial chemotherapy treatment that decreased during subsequent treatments. State anxiety levels were not influenced by the VR intervention. This study supports the application of VR as a distraction intervention.
本研究检验了这样一个前提，即虚拟现实（VR）作为一种分散注意力的干预措施，可以减轻10至17岁癌症患儿化疗相关的症状困扰。癌症治疗强度大且难以忍受。分散注意力的干预措施之所以有效，是因为个体专注于愉快或有趣的刺激，而不是关注不愉快的症状。VR作为一种分散注意力的干预措施，既具有沉浸感又具有交互性。在本研究中，个体在单次静脉化疗期间佩戴了Virtual IO（R）头戴式耳机。参与者从三个基于CD-ROM的市售场景中选择了一个：《魔法地毯》《福尔摩斯探案之谜》和《第七访客》（R）。采用去除治疗的中断时间序列设计来回答这些研究问题：（1）VR对于减轻儿童化疗相关症状困扰是否是一种有效的分散注意力干预措施？（2）VR是否有持久的效果？便利样本包括11名接受门诊化疗的儿童。症状困扰量表（SDS）和儿童状态-特质焦虑量表（STAIC-1）用于测量症状困扰的因变量。采用重复测量方差分析进行数据分析。SDS的数据分析表明，VR干预在化疗治疗后立即有效降低了症状困扰水平（p<.10），但没有持久效果。对STAIC-1的分析表明，在初次化疗期间焦虑水平较高，在后续治疗中有所下降。状态焦虑水平不受VR干预的影响。本研究支持将VR作为一种分散注意力的干预措施加以应用。
