Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Feb 24:25:100203.
doi: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2023.100203. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Using virtual reality to prepare patients for radiotherapy: A systematic review of interventional studies with educational sessions

Ana Monteiro Grilo  1   2 , Bárbara Almeida  3 , Carolina Rodrigues  3 , Ana Isabel Gomes  2 , Marco Caetano  3
Affiliations
Review

Using virtual reality to prepare patients for radiotherapy: A systematic review of interventional studies with educational sessions

Ana Monteiro Grilo et al. Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol. .

Abstract

Purpose: To understand the impact of radiotherapy educational sessions with virtual reality on oncologic adult patients' psychological and cognitive outcomes related to the treatment experience.

Methods: This review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines. A systematic electronic search in three databases, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, was conducted in December 2021 to find interventional studies with adult patients undergoing external radiotherapy who received an educational session with virtual reality before or during the treatment. The studies that provided qualitative or quantitative information about the impact of educational sessions on patients' psychological and cognitive dimensions related to RT experience were retained for analysis.

Results: Of the 25 records found, eight articles about seven studies were analysed that involved 376 patients with different oncological pathologies. Most studies evaluated knowledge and treatment-related anxiety, mainly through self-reported questionnaires. The analysis showed a significant improvement in patients' knowledge and comprehension of radiotherapy treatment. Anxiety levels also decreased with virtual reality educational sessions and throughout the treatment in almost all the studies, although with less homogeneous results.

Conclusion: Virtual reality methods in standard educational sessions can enhance cancer patients' preparation for radiation therapy by increasing their understanding of treatment and reducing anxiety.

Keywords: Anxiety; Cancer; Knowledge; Patient education; Radiotherapy; Virtual reality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram about the selection process of the articles .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yu Duan Y., Yao Zhang J., Xie M., Bo Feng X., Xu S., Wei Y.Z. Application of virtual reality technology in disaster medicine. Curr Med Sci. 2019;39(5):690–693. - PubMed
    1. Williams C.L., Kovtun K.A. The future of virtual reality in radiation oncology. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2018;102(4):1162–1164. - PubMed
    1. Biocca F. Virtual reality technology: a tutorial. J Commun. 1992;42(4):23–72.
    1. Zasadzka E., Pieczyńska A., Trzmiel T., Hojan K. Virtual reality as a promising tool supporting oncological treatment in breast cancer. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(16):8768. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pottle J. Virtual reality and the transformation of medical education. Future Healthc J. 2019;6(3):181–185. - PMC - PubMed

Further reading

    1. Grilo A.M., Gomes A.I., Monsanto F., Albino D., Augusto C., Pragana C. First day of radiotherapy for women with breast cancer: predictors of anxiety. Support Care Cancer. 2020;28(3):1241–1248. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources