Exploring the use of immersive virtual reality in adults with chronic primary pain: A scoping review

Astek, Anfal, Sparkes, Valerie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4500-9327 and Sheeran, Liba ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1502-764X 2024. Exploring the use of immersive virtual reality in adults with chronic primary pain: A scoping review. Digital Health 10 , pp. 1-19. 10.1177/20552076241254456

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Abstract

Background: The use of immersive virtual reality, wearing head mounted display, has recently increased for people with chronic pain, with no definitive conclusion of its efficacy on painrelated outcomes. Objective: To map the available evidence on the use of immersive virtual reality as intervention for adults with chronic primary pain, illustrating gap in knowledge and direct future research. Methods: The search was performed with a range of study designs, but only those written in English language. A search was created in CINAHL Plus, Medline, AMED, Embase, PsycINFO,ASSIA, Scopus, TripPro, CENTRAL and EmCare. Results: Thirty-two studies were included. Several chronic conditions were identified including chronic musculoskeletal pain and fibromyalgia. The immersive virtual reality mechanisms included distraction, physical exercises, mindfulness/biofeedback, graded exposure, hypnosis, neuromodulation, and multi-mechanisms, and all these mechanisms were associated with varied dose. The use of customised software, with wide range of head mounted displays were common in clinical setting with some degree of supervision. Motion sickness, head mounted display discomfort and technical issues affect the usability of immersive virtual reality leading to poor engagement and dropouts. Conclusions: The use of immersive virtual reality for chronic primary pain is in early stages with lack of consensus regarding the mechanisms and associated dose. Future research needs to address the need of customisation, clinical usability of head mounted display as well as safety strategies to enhance the uptake of immersive virtual reality technology in healthcare practice.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Healthcare Sciences
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Funders:	Saudi Arabia Cultural Bureau in London
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	27 April 2024
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2024 10:52
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170363

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