The DREAMS Project: Improving the Intensive Care Patient Experience with Virtual Reality

TL;DR

This study evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of using meditative virtual reality to enhance ICU patient experience, showing reductions in anxiety and depression but no significant physiological effects.

Contribution

It demonstrates that VR can be feasibly implemented in ICU settings and may improve psychological well-being of patients.

Findings

VR reduced anxiety levels in ICU patients

VR decreased depression among participants

No significant impact on physiological measures

Abstract

Purpose: Preliminarily evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of using meditative virtual reality (VR) to improve the hospital experience of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods: Effects of VR were examined in a non-randomized, single-center cohort. Fifty-nine patients admitted to the surgical or trauma ICU of the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital participated. A Google Daydream headset was used to expose ICU patients to commercially available VR applications focused on calmness and relaxation (Google Spotlight Stories and RelaxVR). Sessions were conducted once daily for up to seven days. Outcome measures included pain level, anxiety, depression, medication administration, sleep quality, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, delirium status, and patient ratings of the VR system. Comparisons were made using paired t-tests and mixed models where appropriate. Results: The VR meditative intervention was found to improve patients' ICU experience with reduced levels of anxiety and depression; however, there was no evidence suggesting that VR had any significant effects on physiological measures, pain, or sleep. Conclusion: The use of VR technology in the ICU was shown to be easily implemented and well-received by patients.