The effect of virtual reality glasses on pain and patient satisfaction in arteriovenous fistula cannulation procedure

Aims

To determine the effect of virtual reality glasses intervention on pain, vital signs, and patient satisfaction of hemodialysis patients undergoing AVF catheter puncture.

Design

Randomized controlled study.

Methods

The study was conducted in 60 patients receiving dialysis treatment in the HD unit of a public hospital in Turkey. The data were collected via the “Patient Identification Form”, “Visual Analog Scale/VAS” and “Hemodynamics Variables Inspection Form”. The patients in the experiment group watched videos through the virtual reality glasses for totally 5 minutes in average, 2 minutes before the AVF cannulation process and 3 minutes during the process. No intervention was applied to the patients in the control group other than the normal nursing interventions in the HD unit.

Results

In the intra-group comparisons, the 2nd and 3rd measurement average pain level scores of the patients with in the experimental group were determined to be statistically significantly lower compared to their 1st measurement (p < 0.05); the 3rd measurement average pain level scores of the control group were determined to be statistically significantly lower compared to their 1st and 2nd measurements (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

It was determined that the virtual reality glasses decreased the pain that emerges during the AVF cannulation process and increased the patient satisfaction level. It is suggested that the virtual reality glasses should be used by the nurses in the HD unit since it is easily applicable in coping with pain in the patients and since it is an invasive method.