The effect of using virtual reality goggles on psychological well-being and care burden of informal caregivers of patients hospitalized in a palliative care clinic

Abstract

Purpose

This study was conducted to determine the effect of virtual reality goggles on the psychological well-being and care burden of informal caregivers of patients hospitalized in a palliative care clinic.

Methods

Pretest-posttest randomized controlled study. It was conducted from June-October 2023 with 44 informal caregivers (22 in the control, 22 in the intervention group). Caregivers in the intervention group were shown 360° relaxing virtual reality videos with virtual reality goggles for four weeks, three days a week, 30 min per use. The control group did not receive any intervention. Data were collected using the caregiver introduction form, psychological well-being scale, caregiving burden scale, and satisfaction form for virtual reality goggles. Analyses were performed with Independent Sample T-Test and Paired Sample T-Test.

Results

The post-test mean score of the psychological well-being scale of the intervention group was statistically significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.05). The post-test mean score of the caregiving burden scale of the control group was statistically significantly higher than the intervention group (p < 0.05). 68% of the caregivers in the intervention group were very satisfied with using virtual reality goggles. This study revealed that using virtual reality goggles increased psychological well-being and reduced the care burden of informal caregivers of patients hospitalized in a palliative care clinic.

Conclusion

The results of this study have revealed that virtual reality glasses can be used to support informal caregivers in palliative care. This study reveals promising results for improving the quality of patient care by supporting informal caregivers.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID

NCT06156540