Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (FLOW-VRT-Relaxation) outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care: results from a randomized controlled trial
Introduction: As the global population continues to age, the demand for palliative care is progressively increasing. This growing trend highlights the pressing need for groundbreaking interventions that can effectively manage palliative symptoms and improve the quality of end-of-life care. We presen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1304155/full |
| _version_ | 1797338405408866304 |
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| author | Olive K. L. Woo Antoinette M. Lee Royce Ng Daniel Eckhoff Raymond Lo Alvaro Cassinelli |
| author_facet | Olive K. L. Woo Antoinette M. Lee Royce Ng Daniel Eckhoff Raymond Lo Alvaro Cassinelli |
| author_sort | Olive K. L. Woo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: As the global population continues to age, the demand for palliative care is progressively increasing. This growing trend highlights the pressing need for groundbreaking interventions that can effectively manage palliative symptoms and improve the quality of end-of-life care. We present a brief, structured, personalized, and innovative psychological intervention named Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Therapy (FLOW-VRT)®, which capitalizes on the distinctiveness of virtual reality (VR) as an advanced technology for symptom management. FLOW-VRT is theoretically based on self-determination theory, stress coping theory, flow theory, and attention restoration theory. With a special focus on relaxation, “FLOW-VRT-Relaxation” is designed to enhance end-of-life coping through personalized VR relaxation. As most studies on the use of VR in palliative care have been feasibility or pilot studies with small sample sizes, there is a need for a randomized controlled trial with sufficient statistical power.Methods: The current study used a randomized controlled trial (n = 128) to test the efficacy of FLOW-VRT-Relaxation by comparing it to traditional relaxation practice in palliative care.Results: Our results showed that following a FLOW-VRT-Relaxation session, the symptoms of distress that patients in palliative care have to endure significantly reduced, whether physical or emotional in nature.Discussions: The current findings provide promising results regarding the therapeutic potential of using FLOW-VRT-Relaxation as a cost-effective, scalable, and personalized VR relaxation for patients in palliative care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:30:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ea4ddb9bacd45e9bdae944dbff79df8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4192 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:30:43Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Virtual Reality |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ea4ddb9bacd45e9bdae944dbff79df82024-01-31T04:16:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Virtual Reality2673-41922024-01-01410.3389/frvir.2023.13041551304155Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (FLOW-VRT-Relaxation) outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care: results from a randomized controlled trialOlive K. L. Woo0Antoinette M. Lee1Royce Ng2Daniel Eckhoff3Raymond Lo4Alvaro Cassinelli5Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaSchool of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaSchool of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Medicine and Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaSchool of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaIntroduction: As the global population continues to age, the demand for palliative care is progressively increasing. This growing trend highlights the pressing need for groundbreaking interventions that can effectively manage palliative symptoms and improve the quality of end-of-life care. We present a brief, structured, personalized, and innovative psychological intervention named Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Therapy (FLOW-VRT)®, which capitalizes on the distinctiveness of virtual reality (VR) as an advanced technology for symptom management. FLOW-VRT is theoretically based on self-determination theory, stress coping theory, flow theory, and attention restoration theory. With a special focus on relaxation, “FLOW-VRT-Relaxation” is designed to enhance end-of-life coping through personalized VR relaxation. As most studies on the use of VR in palliative care have been feasibility or pilot studies with small sample sizes, there is a need for a randomized controlled trial with sufficient statistical power.Methods: The current study used a randomized controlled trial (n = 128) to test the efficacy of FLOW-VRT-Relaxation by comparing it to traditional relaxation practice in palliative care.Results: Our results showed that following a FLOW-VRT-Relaxation session, the symptoms of distress that patients in palliative care have to endure significantly reduced, whether physical or emotional in nature.Discussions: The current findings provide promising results regarding the therapeutic potential of using FLOW-VRT-Relaxation as a cost-effective, scalable, and personalized VR relaxation for patients in palliative care.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1304155/fullvirtual realitypalliative carerelaxationFLOW-VRTpersonalizedend-of-life care |
| spellingShingle | Olive K. L. Woo Antoinette M. Lee Royce Ng Daniel Eckhoff Raymond Lo Alvaro Cassinelli Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (FLOW-VRT-Relaxation) outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care: results from a randomized controlled trial Frontiers in Virtual Reality virtual reality palliative care relaxation FLOW-VRT personalized end-of-life care |
| title | Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (FLOW-VRT-Relaxation) outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care: results from a randomized controlled trial |
| title_full | Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (FLOW-VRT-Relaxation) outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care: results from a randomized controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (FLOW-VRT-Relaxation) outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care: results from a randomized controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (FLOW-VRT-Relaxation) outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care: results from a randomized controlled trial |
| title_short | Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Relaxation Therapy (FLOW-VRT-Relaxation) outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care: results from a randomized controlled trial |
| title_sort | flourishing life of wish virtual reality relaxation therapy flow vrt relaxation outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in palliative care results from a randomized controlled trial |
| topic | virtual reality palliative care relaxation FLOW-VRT personalized end-of-life care |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2023.1304155/full |
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