# VCU initiative links VR headset use to lower pre-surgery anxiety in children

- Published: 2026-11-06 08:05 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: pediatric preoperative anxiety, virtual reality clinical study, PLOS Digital Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, non-pharmacological sedation
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-03c601182d13203c1632d9f8_vcu_initiative_links/

**A quality-improvement initiative involving 80 pediatric patients demonstrated measurable drops in distress, fear, and blood pressure before operations.**

![VCU initiative links VR headset use to lower pre-surgery anxiety in children](https://sgzwpqqelzmajkcubgkl.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/rt-media/2026/11/e3472b74f894fae5.jpg)
*FloppaIngénieur, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0*

A team led by Dayanjan Wijesinghe at Virginia Commonwealth University integrated a virtual reality intervention into a pediatric preoperative holding area in Richmond, Virginia, during a nine-month quality-improvement initiative. In a study published in *PLOS Digital Health* (doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0001219), researchers evaluated within-subject changes in 80 children aged 6–15 scheduled for elective surgery [1]. Using a Meta Quest headset, patients entered a custom environment featuring an interactive children's room or a beach scene.

Following the VR exposure, self-reported distress on a 0–10 Numerical Rating Scale decreased by a median of 2.0 points, dropping from a baseline median of 3.0 down to 1.0 (p < 0.001) [1]. Fear scores on the 0–4 Children's Fear Scale declined by a median of 1.0 point, moving from 1.0 to 0.0 (p < 0.001) [1]. The researchers noted that 46 of the 80 children met the threshold for clinically meaningful improvement in distress, while 44 achieved the threshold for fear reduction [1].

## Physiological indicators and acceptance

The intervention also coincided with decreases in autonomic arousal. The children's heart rate dropped by a mean of 5.8 beats per minute, and systolic blood pressure fell by an average of 4.1 mmHg (both p < 0.001) [1]. Acceptance rates were high among stakeholders: 91% of the children reported willingness to use the headset again, 95% of parents indicated they would recommend the intervention, and all participating nurses endorsed the workflow [1]. Adverse effects were rare and minor, occurring in 3 out of 80 participants [1].

## Observational study limitations

The initiative relied on an uncontrolled, single-arm pre-post design without a comparison group. According to the authors, the observed declines in anxiety cannot be attributed exclusively to the VR software [1]. The results may partly stem from natural settling over time, non-specific attention, habituation to the environment, or regression to the mean [1]. The authors concluded that controlled comparative clinical trials remain necessary before such digital interventions are routinely adopted in pediatric surgical care [1].

## Sources

1. [doi.org](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0001219)
2. [EurekAlert](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1149378)

---

Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-03c601182d13203c1632d9f8_vcu_initiative_links/