This article will share some of the most important Lessons Learned Using Virtual Reality in Hospitalized Patients. We will find out which lessons are not surprising, but others are interesting and unexpected. Patients can often experience anxiety, uncertainty, and boredom in the hospital.
They might find themselves sitting in a hospital room for days or weeks, which can be physically demanding and emotionally draining. The hospital room might feel like more of a bio-psycho-social jail cell than a place that’s uplifting and a place for healing.
Lessons Learned Using Virtual Reality in Hospitalized Patients
1. You can see two distinct moments that prove when VR is working its magic.
1) The first is when a patient who has been withdrawn and unresponsive for days suddenly lights up and becomes engaged while using VR.
2) The other is when a patient in so much pain that they can’t even sit up on their own is completely relaxed and pain-free while distracted by VR.
2. Even a negative response to VR can be clinically useful.
Even a negative response to VR can be clinically useful, say the authors of a new study that used the technology with hospitalized patients.
The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, found that VR can help clinicians understand a patient’s potential reaction to real-world situations.
“Virtual reality has great potential as a clinical tool, but its use has been limited by our lack of understanding of how patients will respond to it,” said study author Dr. Matthew Lewis of the University of Southern California. “Our study is the first to show that even a negative response to VR can be clinically useful.”
The study included 24 hospitalized patients who were asked to complete a series of tasks in VR, including walking across a virtual bridge and picking up objects. After each task, the patients were asked to rate their fear and anxiety levels.
The results showed that VR could be a valuable tool for assessing a patient’s fear and anxiety levels, even if they do not respond positively to the experience.
“This is important because VR can be used with patients who may not be able or willing to participate in traditional exposure therapy,” said Dr. Lewis. “It also suggests that VR may be
3. VR can significantly reduce pain without needing other medications.
Virtual reality has been used in hospitals to help patients cope with pain, anxiety, and stress. A new study has found that VR can significantly reduce pain without needing narcotics or other medications.
The study’s authors say that VR could be a valuable tool for managing pain in hospitalized patients.
4. Many patients still do not want to use VR in the hospital.
Despite the potential benefits of virtual reality (VR) in the hospital, many patients are still reluctant to use it. Some patients worry that VR will be too immersive, and they won’t be able to focus on their recovery.
Others are concerned about the cost of VR equipment and whether their insurance will cover it. And some patients simply don’t like wearing a headset and being disconnected from the outside world.
VR developers and hospital administrators are working to address these concerns and make VR a more accepted part of hospital care. They are developing new VR content that is specifically designed for hospital patients and working with insurance companies to get VR equipment covered.
They are also making sure that VR headsets are comfortable to wear and easy to use. With these efforts, they hope to increase the number of patients willing to try VR in the hospital.
5. Many patients are medically ineligible to use VR in the hospital.
Many patients cannot use virtual reality (VR) in the hospital due to medical conditions. While VR can be a great tool for helping hospitalized patients feel more connected to the outside world, it’s important to remember that not everyone will be able to take advantage of this technology.
Whether it’s due to an underlying medical condition or simply because they’re not comfortable using VR headsets, there will always be a portion of the population that won’t be able to benefit from VR in the hospital.
6. The headsets are getting better, but there is still room for improvement.
Since we started using virtual reality in our hospital, we’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Technology is improving all the time, but there are still some challenges. Here are some of the lessons we’ve learned:
We’ve tried a few different VR headsets, and while they’re all improving, there are still some issues. For example, they can be uncomfortable wearing for long periods, and the field of view can be quite limited. We’re hopeful these issues will be addressed in future generations of VR headsets.
Patients respond very differently to VR.
Some patients love it and find it extremely relaxing, while others find it disorienting or even scary. It’s important to ask each patient how they’re feeling during and after their VR session so that we can tailor the experience to their individual needs.
We need more content!
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced is finding enough VR content that is appropriate for our hospital setting. There are a lot of great games and experiences out there, but many of them are not suitable for our
7. If VR is therapy, we need an evidence-based “VR Pharmacy.”
There is a lot of excitement around the potential of using virtual reality (VR) as a therapeutic tool. And while there are some promising early studies, we need to be cautious about over-promising and under-delivering on the potential of VR.
If VR is going to be a therapy, then we need an evidence-based “VR Pharmacy” where we can prescribe VR experiences based on what we know works for specific conditions. Otherwise, we risk turning VR into the latest fad with inflated expectations and disappointed patients.
8. VR has the potential to be cost-effective
Virtual reality (VR) can be a cost-effective intervention for hospitalized patients. A recent study found that VR was associated with a decrease in length of hospital stay and a reduction in the number of days spent in the intensive care unit (ICU). VR has also been shown to reduce anxiety and pain in hospitalized patients.
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