Mardon Amelia K, Wilson Dianne, Leake Hayley B, Harvie Daniel, Andrade Andre, Chalmers K Jane, Bowes Aaron, Moseley G Lorimer
IIMPACT in Health, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
The Pain Education Team to Advance Learning (PETAL) Collaboration.
Front Pain Res (Lausanne). 2025 Mar 20;6:1535915. doi: 10.3389/fpain.2025.1535915. eCollection 2025.
Persistent pain is a leading cause of medical discharges for Veterans. Pain science education (PSE) aims to better people's understanding about pain and is effective at reducing pain and depressive symptoms in Veterans. Preliminary evidence suggests virtual reality (VR)-delivered PSE has clinical benefits for people with persistent pain. This study investigated the acceptability, feasibility, and usability for VR-PSE for Veterans with persistent pain.
Veterans ( = 7) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) experienced in treating Veterans ( = 5) participated in workshops that involved working through the VR-PSE program, online questionnaires, and a focus group. Quantitative data were analysed by descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed using a framework analysis according to the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA). A mixed-methods analysis combined the quantitative and qualitative data via triangulation, with the findings presented according to the TFA domains.
The VR-PSE program was considered easy to use, engaging, and adaptable for different functional capabilities. Appropriate screening for contraindications prior to using the VR-PSE program was considered important by HCPs. Both Veterans and HCPs emphasized the need for a trusting client-clinician relationship to improve the acceptability of the VR-PSE program.
Overall, the VR-PSE program was found to be acceptable, feasible, and usable and may be a useful tool to incorporate into the clinical management of Veterans with persistent pain. Further research is needed to investigate the efficacy of VR-PSE programs on clinical outcomes for Veterans with persistent pain.
持续性疼痛是退伍军人医疗出院的主要原因。疼痛科学教育（PSE）旨在增进人们对疼痛的理解，对减轻退伍军人的疼痛和抑郁症状有效。初步证据表明，通过虚拟现实（VR）提供的PSE对患有持续性疼痛的人具有临床益处。本研究调查了VR-PSE对患有持续性疼痛的退伍军人的可接受性、可行性和可用性。
退伍军人（n = 7）和有治疗退伍军人经验的医疗保健专业人员（HCPs，n = 5）参加了研讨会，其中包括完成VR-PSE项目、在线问卷调查和焦点小组。定量数据采用描述性统计分析。定性数据根据可接受性理论框架（TFA）使用框架分析进行分析。混合方法分析通过三角测量将定量和定性数据结合起来，研究结果根据TFA领域呈现。
VR-PSE项目被认为易于使用、引人入胜且适用于不同的功能能力。HCPs认为在使用VR-PSE项目之前对禁忌症进行适当筛查很重要。退伍军人和HCPs都强调需要信任的医患关系来提高VR-PSE项目的可接受性。
总体而言，VR-PSE项目被认为是可接受的、可行的和可用的，可能是纳入患有持续性疼痛的退伍军人临床管理的有用工具。需要进一步研究以调查VR-PSE项目对患有持续性疼痛的退伍军人临床结局的疗效。
