Clinical trial · Interventional
Using Virtual Reality to Reduce Procedural Pain in Children With Cancer
Using Virtual Reality to Reduce Procedural Pain in Children With Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
This study will assess the impact of virtual reality (VR) in decreasing procedural pain related to subcutaneous port (SCP) access in children with cancer. The study is a pilot-randomized controlled trial (RCT) using a cross-over design that will provide us with detailed information on the feasibility of implementing our trial protocol in a future multi-center RCT as well as preliminary estimate of VR treatment effect on children with cancer undergoing SCP access, including child and parent factors potentially associated with VR distraction treatment efficacy.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPad | Device | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Samsung GearVR | Device | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Intervention Group
- description
- In addition to usual care, the intervention group will receive the Samsung GearVR with head mounted display (HMD), controller, and headphones. They will situated in front of the nurse and beside/on the lap of the parent, or they may be lying supine. The VR intervention will use auditory and visual stimuli (simulating the peaceful underwater environment) to distract the child before, during, and after the SCP needle insertion. Children will be allowed to 'try-out' the VR system before the SCP access to familiarize themselves with the equipment. The entire study will be videotaped.
- interventionNames
- Device: Samsung GearVR
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Control Group
- description
- In addition to usual care, participants in the control group will be seated with their parent and in front of the nurse, according to preference. Children will watch an age appropriate video selected by an oncology-affiliated child life specialist on an iPad, while wearing the same headphones used in the experimental condition. The RA will hold the iPad and positioned within a meter of the child so that the child can still see the iPad without the RA interfering in the clinical procedure. The entire study will be videotaped.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 8 Years
- Maximum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Child and parent able to speak and understand English * actively undergoing cancer treatment * being less than 1 year from initial diagnosis * requiring at least 2 SCP needle insertions for cancer treatment over the following 8 weeks Exclusion Criteria: * visual, auditory or cognitive impairments precluding interaction with the intervention or control equipment * patients with major co-morbid medical or psychiatric conditions (including needle-phobia\_ as per their healthcare provider or parent * end of life patients * patients with a MRSA infection or symptoms of respiratory or gastrointestinal infection as per any member of their healthcare team which could contaminate the intervention or control equipment * participation in usability study
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available