Research published in the British Medical Journal has found that over 50 percent of palliative care patients have seen improvements to symptoms of pain and depression through the use of virtual reality technology.
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Patients saw the benefits immediately after just 20 minutes of VR therapy, although for some there were no noticeable changes and others felt unwell using it.
The study was funded by the Breakthrough Mental Health Research, the NHMRC, the MRFF, and Cancer Australia. It measured the impact of three VR sessions using the Wander application and YouTube VR with a Meta Quest 2 headset on 16 palliative care patients from an acute ward in a South Australian hospital.
A co-authored article by Tobias Loetscher, Associate Professor, University of South Australia and Gregory Crawford, Professor in Palliative Medicine, University of Adelaide set out their findings: “We found just 20 minutes of VR immersion could immediately reduce the participants’ subjective feelings of both physical pain and emotional pain (such as depression).
“At least half of the participants reported significant relief after a single session. After one session, two out of three participants reported relief.”
They also relayed positive feedback, such as one patient who reported “when the service is finished you feel like you are floating. [It takes a] weight off your shoulders”.
To achieve these results, the researchers used a VR headset to create an immersive, 3D experience that is often utilised alongside music or sound effects.
The virtual environment can feel like an experience which is close to reality, according to Loetscher and Crawford.
While there has already been research into the effects of VR on palliative care patients, this latest study looked specifically at the benefits of personalised VR sessions on pain and depression.
By ‘personalised’ VR, it means content that is customised to make it more meaningful for each patient, based on answers given in interviews prior to the therapy.
One patient, for example, wanted to explore Paris, while others wanted to revisit their home countries, while another patient was given a VR Star Wars game as they said they were a fan of the franchise.
More Research Needed
The outcomes of the therapy were not universally positive, however, with one person experiencing nausea and another finding the headset was too heavy on their cheekbone.
Although there is now some good evidence that VR can be beneficial to some palliative care patients, it is not necessarily going to be helpful to everybody.
Loetscher and Crawford recognised that this field of research still needs to be investigated further: “More research is needed to better understand which patients will benefit the most from VR and how we can best use it.
“It is also worth remembering skilled staff need to be on hand to support a patient to use VR; it is no good just buying a VR set and expecting patients to use it on their own.
“Our study, while limited, shows VR therapy may in some cases have a role to play to help palliative care patients experience moments of joy and comfort despite the seriousness of their illness.
The Meta Quest 2 headsets used in this study received a major performance boost last year, with a graphics processor increase of 19 percent.
