Education and Research, St Columba's Hospice Care, Edinburgh, UK
School of Health Sciences, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK.
BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2021 Sep;11(3):344-350. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-003173. Epub 2021 Jul 2.
Virtual reality (VR) technology as a therapeutic intervention has been gaining attention in healthcare settings in recent years. Studies suggest that using the technology can help alleviate symptoms such as pain and anxiety and induce positive emotions for people in hospital. Managing symptoms and promoting emotional and psychological well-being are core palliative care goals of relieving suffering of people with life-limiting illness. Accordingly, VR may be highly beneficial for use in hospice care yet remains underdeveloped in such settings. This qualitative study aimed to trial the technology and consider what benefits may emerge for hospice in patients.
A one-off VR session was offered to patients at a hospice in Scotland. Sessions were observed by a researcher and followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews to discuss the experience with those who took part. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed.
Nineteen hospice patients successfully tried an immersive VR experience. VR sessions were acceptable for people within the hospice environment. The majority of participants enjoyed the experience. Many expressed joy and delight at the process. VR holds possibilities for relieving symptoms such as pain and anxiety frequently experienced by people in hospices. Furthermore, the technology offers the capacity to reconnect with a previous sense of self and to allow respite through the capacity to transcend current reality and connect with another meaningful reality. This exploratory study offers a starting point for larger studies to investigate the utility of VR for hospice patients.
虚拟现实（VR）技术作为一种治疗干预手段，近年来在医疗保健领域受到关注。研究表明，使用该技术可以帮助减轻医院患者的疼痛和焦虑等症状，并产生积极的情绪。管理症状和促进情感和心理健康是缓解绝症患者痛苦的姑息治疗的核心目标。因此，VR 可能非常有益于临终关怀使用，但在这种环境下仍未得到充分发展。这项定性研究旨在试用该技术，并考虑它可能给临终关怀患者带来的益处。
在苏格兰的一家临终关怀医院为患者提供一次性 VR 体验。研究人员观察了这些体验，并对参与者进行了定性半结构化访谈，以讨论他们的体验。访谈进行了录音、转录和主题分析。
19 名临终关怀患者成功尝试了沉浸式 VR 体验。VR 体验在临终关怀环境中对人们来说是可以接受的。大多数参与者都很享受这个体验。许多人对这个过程感到高兴和愉快。VR 有可能缓解临终关怀患者经常经历的疼痛和焦虑等症状。此外，该技术还具有与以前的自我重新建立联系的能力，并通过超越当前现实与另一个有意义的现实建立联系来提供缓解。这项探索性研究为更大规模的研究提供了一个起点，以调查 VR 对临终关怀患者的效用。
