Principal Investigator:
Annie Grossberg, MD
Johns Hopkins
Overview:
Children who play virtual reality games have been found to experience less pain and anxiety during vaccination and venipuncture. The immersive experience of virtual reality provides distraction and promotes play during an otherwise painful medical procedure. The aim of this study is to determine whether play with virtual reality games improves coping and decreases pain and anxiety in children receiving dermatologic procedures. We will invite children to use a virtual reality headset during laser therapy or skin biopsies in our outpatient pediatric dermatology clinic. Our hope is that by distracting children with virtual reality we can help them experience improved coping and reduced pain and anxiety, and thereby give a more therapeutic medical experience. This has implications on minimizing children’s medical trauma and building children’s resilience during painful procedures.
Status:
This project was funded by a 2019 PeDRA Research Grant.
