Health · Medical Research · 2 hrs ago
Virtual reality sessions eased anxiety in children awaiting surgery
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University studied virtual reality before surgery in children aged 6 to 15 at a children's hospital.
Over nine months, 80 children used a headset for 5 to 20 minutes to explore a calming beach or an interactive room while waiting for surgery.
After the sessions, children's anxiety and fear ratings were lower: median distress fell from 3 to 1, and median fear from 1 to 0.
Their average heart rate and systolic blood pressure also fell, and most children, parents and nurses said they would support using the program again.
The findings do not prove virtual reality caused the changes, because the project had no comparison group and measured only immediate effects.
High anxiety before surgery is common in children and can make starting anesthesia harder, while anxiety medicines can carry risks.
Randomized trials are needed before routine use to test whether virtual reality works better than usual care or other non-drug approaches.
A study of 80 children found that anxiety and fear scores fell after they used virtual reality while waiting for surgery.
Children aged 6 to 15 tried interactive or calming virtual environments for 5 to 20 minutes.
Average heart rate and systolic blood pressure also decreased after the sessions.
The study had no control group, so researchers said the changes cannot be attributed to virtual reality alone.
The researchers said controlled trials are needed before virtual reality is routinely used to manage children’s preoperative anxiety.
- Who
- A research team at Virginia Commonwealth University studied 80 children aged 6 to 15.
- What
- Children used virtual reality before surgery; afterward, their reported distress and fear, as well as heart rate and systolic blood pressure, were lower.
- When
- The program was applied over nine months. The report was published on November 6, 2026.
- Where
- A children’s hospital in the United States.
- Why
- The study examined whether virtual reality could help ease children’s anxiety before surgery as a non-drug approach.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Researchers offered children virtual reality sessions in the hospital’s preoperative waiting area.
Yonhap reported the study’s findings, published in PLOS Digital Health.
- Participants
- 80 children aged 6 to 15
- Session length
- 5 to 20 minutes
- Distress score
- Median fell from 3 to 1 on a 0–10 scale
- Fear score
- Median fell from 1 to 0 on a 0–4 scale
- Heart rate
- Average fell from 86.3 to 80.5 beats per minute
- Systolic blood pressure
- Average fell from 113.9 to 109.8 mmHg