Clinical trial · Interventional
Effect of Virtual Reality on Pain and Anxiety During Pap Smear Testing
The Effect of Virtual Reality Transition on Pain and Anxiety Experienced During Pap Smear Testing
- 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 randomized controlled pretest-posttest experimental study aims to evaluate the effect of virtual reality (VR) on pain and anxiety levels experienced during Pap smear sampling. Although cervical cancer is largely preventable through regular screening, many women avoid Pap smear testing due to anxiety, fear of pain, and discomfort during gynecological examinations. Innovative, non-invasive interventions are needed to improve women's screening experiences and participation rates. The study will be conducted in a gynecology outpatient clinic with 60 women aged 18-65 years who meet the inclusion criteria and provide informed consent. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (VR headset during the procedure) or the control group (standard care). Women in the intervention group will watch a 360° relaxing nature video during the Pap smear procedure. Data will be collected using a Personal Information Form, the State Anxiety Inventory, and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The findings may support integrating VR into clinical practice to enhance patient comfort during screening procedures.
Conditions
Conditions (4)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Cervical Cancer Screening | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Nurse's Role | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Pain Management | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Reality | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Virtual Reality Group
- description
- Participants will watch a 360° relaxing nature video through a VR headset during the Pap smear procedure.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Virtual Reality
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Control Group
- description
- Routin nursing care
Primary outcomes (2)
- measure
- Pain level during Pap smear procedure
- timeFrame
- Immediately after completion of the Pap smear procedure (within 5 minutes post-procedure).
- description
- Pain intensity experienced during the Pap smear procedure will be measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The VAS is a 10-cm scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). Higher scores indicate greater pain intensity.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 65 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Women aged 18-65 years * Scheduled for a Pap smear procedure * Able to communicate in Turkish * Able to understand and complete the study questionnaires * Willing to provide written informed consent * No visual or hearing impairment preventing the use of a VR headset Exclusion Criteria: * History of severe motion sickness or vertigo * Diagnosed psychiatric disorder affecting anxiety assessment * Use of anxiolytic or sedative medication within 24 hours prior to the procedure * Presence of acute pelvic pain or active vaginal infection * Previous participation in this study * Any condition preventing safe use of a VR headset
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available