Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
J Prim Care Community Health. 2022 Jan-Dec;13:21501319221086716. doi: 10.1177/21501319221086716.
The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the safety and use of a nature-based virtual reality (VR) experience among health care providers (HCP) during a pandemic.
Twenty-four frontline HCP participated in this crossover pilot where the viewing order of the experiences were randomized. All participants attended in-person consent, baseline, and end-of-study visits. The intervention consisted of viewing 2 nature-based scenes ("walk in the woods" and "forest of focus") through 3-D VR and with computer 4K graphic imagery. Randomization took place with regards to the viewing order (VR vs 4K computer video, scene 1 and 2). Outcomes measured were safety, acceptability and changes in intensity of anxiety feelings, resilience, emotional distress, cognitive function, and self-efficacy.
Among the 26 HCP expressing interest in the study, 24 enrolled in this study. The majority were male (58.3%), white (66.7%) and of an average age of 46.3 ± 10.5 years (standard deviation (SD)). End of the study survey showed that almost all participants (96%) would participate in the study again and recommend it to others. Twenty-three of the 24 participants also felt relaxed after seeing the imagery. With respect to anxiety (as measured by the STAI Y1), the VR "walk in the woods" had the greatest reduction from pre to post (6.4 points, SD = 5.98) followed by VR "forest of focus" (5.8 points, SD = 9.29), computer screen "forest of focus" (5.0 points, SD = 8.89), and computer screen "walk in the woods" (4.1 points, SD = 6.22). All 4 sessions had a significant decrease in score from pre to post (P-values ≤.005), but there was no significant difference in the change from pre- to post-session between the 4 groups (P-value = .5835).
The use of the VR among HCP has promise for reducing stress among health care providers during a high stress period, such as a pandemic but much larger studies are needed.
本初步研究旨在评估在大流行期间，医疗保健提供者（HCP）使用基于自然的虚拟现实（VR）体验的安全性。
24 名一线 HCP 参与了这项交叉初步研究，其中体验的观看顺序是随机的。所有参与者都参加了现场知情同意、基线和研究结束访问。干预措施包括通过 3D VR 和计算机 4K 图形图像观看 2 个基于自然的场景（“林中漫步”和“聚焦森林”）。随机化是针对观看顺序（VR 与 4K 计算机视频，场景 1 和 2）进行的。测量的结果是安全性、可接受性以及焦虑感、韧性、情绪困扰、认知功能和自我效能感的强度变化。
在对研究感兴趣的 26 名 HCP 中，有 24 名参加了这项研究。大多数是男性（58.3%），白人（66.7%），平均年龄为 46.3±10.5 岁（标准差（SD））。研究结束时的调查显示，几乎所有参与者（96%）都愿意再次参加研究，并向他人推荐。24 名参与者中有 23 名在观看图像后感到放松。就焦虑（通过 STAI Y1 测量）而言，VR“林中漫步”的降幅最大，从预到后（6.4 分，SD=5.98），其次是 VR“聚焦森林”（5.8 分，SD=9.29），计算机屏幕“聚焦森林”（5.0 分，SD=8.89），计算机屏幕“林中漫步”（4.1 分，SD=6.22）。所有 4 个会话的得分都从预到后显著降低（P 值≤.005），但 4 组之间从预到会话的变化没有显著差异（P 值=.5835）。
在高压力时期（如大流行期间），HCP 使用 VR 有减轻压力的潜力，但需要进行更大规模的研究。
