Effect of Virtual Reality on Relieving Pain and Anxiety of Circumcision in Children

Background: Circumcision is a common surgery and causes severe pain and anxiety in children. Today, virtual reality is used as an easy and cost-effective non-pharmacological method to manage pain and anxiety with no side effects. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of virtual reality on the reduction of pain and anxiety in children who underwent circumcision. Method: This single-blind randomized clinical trial was performed on 40 children in 2019. The research instruments included the demographic survey, the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress, and the Oucher pain scale which were completed in both groups 30 min before and after the circumcision (immediately after dressing the surgical wound). Anxiety immediately before circumcision. The children’s pain was assessed during anesthesia in both groups. A two-step intervention was performed on the experimental group. A preoperative virtual reality training video and a virtual reality animation were presented to distract the patients during the circumcision. All these steps except virtual reality were performed in the control group. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16). Results: Virtual reality as a distraction technique significantly reduced anxiety and pain at the onset of circumcision (p <0.001) and during anesthesia (p <0.001) as well as pain (P=0.005) and anxiety (p <0.001) at the end of the circumcision in the intervention group compared to the control group. Implications for Practice: Clinical use of virtual reality can be used for the reduction of pain and anxiety in children during the circumcision process.