Meditation With Virtual Reality for Cancer Pain Relief in the Pain Therapy and Palliative Care Service

Cancer is a disabling, challenging and growing global disease. Although early diagnosis and adequate treatment of oncological disease have been developing rapidly, a large part of the population remains without access to specialized services and routinely evolve to symptoms and sequelae with uncontrolled pain, worse quality of life and suffering. Complementary therapies to control pain and improve the well-being of cancer patients are fundamental tools of integrative oncology medicine. This study proposes to use immersive virtual reality to encourage cancer patients to carry out the regular practice of meditation, as an effective tool in pain management and in the search for a better quality of life, based on a structured intervention that encourages autonomy as important part of your treatment. Two studies will be carried out at the Pain Therapy and Palliative Care Service of the Amazonas State Oncology Control Center Foundation (FCECON). Study 1 will be a cross-sectional study to describe the variables associated with the diagnosis and treatment of patients' pain and Study 2 will be a Randomized Controlled Trial that will analyze the impact of an intervention performed with meditation through immersive virtual reality for pain relief. pain in these patients. It is expected that the regular practice of meditation through immersive virtual reality will promote pain relief and improve the quality of life of cancer pain patients.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Maximum age

75 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Be followed up at the Pain Therapy and Palliative Care Service (STDCP) to control symptoms resulting from any type of cancer at any stage;
* Have a diagnosis of chronic pain, recorded in the medical records.
* Be between 18 and 75 years old on the date of the first collection;
* Be able to understand Portuguese (read and write);
* Have normal vision and hearing;
* Have a cell phone with an Android system;
* Be able to make head movements and have sufficient motor control to make body movements;
* Agree to take part in the study and sign the Informed Consent Form (ICF).

Exclusion Criteria:

* Indigenous patients (due to cultural and linguistic peculiarities and special legislation);
* Patients with records of serious psychiatric illnesses (DSM-5 - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - schizophrenia, schizotypal disorders, delusional disorders, borderline and dementias);
* Impairment of the ability to understand or communicate based on the researcher's assessment;
* Report of discomfort with the use of Immersive Virtual Reality;
* Progression of the disease with limitation in maintaining the proposed regular outpatient visits;
* Patients with brain tumors, brain metastases or a previous history of seizures.

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