Pressure ulcers are serious and costly wounds that typically develop as a result of impaired blood flow in tissues exposed to prolonged pressure. They are particularly at risk in the elderly, critically ill patients, and individuals with limited mobility. Pain and anxiety during dressing applications for pressure ulcers can negatively impact patient comfort and compliance. There are limited studies in the literature on the use of nonpharmacological methods to reduce pain and anxiety during the dressing process for pressure ulcers. Virtual reality (VR) applications stand out as an effective method for managing pain and anxiety by providing distraction. However, existing studies generally cover all chronic wounds and lack specific research on the use of VR during the dressing process in individuals with pressure ulcers. Therefore, the proposed study aims to examine the effects of VR application during dressing on pain, anxiety, and patient satisfaction in patients with pressure ulcers and aims to make an original contribution to the literature.
Participants will be individuals aged 18 and over (inclusive), who have no hearing/visual impairment, do not have epilepsy, vertigo, or claustrophobia, and who agree to participate in the study.
Patients who exhibit symptoms of cybersickness (dizziness, nausea, etc.) due to the VR application, who require analgesia during the intervention, or who do not feel pain due to neuropathy, and who express their wish to withdraw from the study will be excluded from the study.
Parallel
virtual reality application
BehavioralThe Oculus Meta Quest Pro is a virtual reality headset with 256 GB of storage. Its LCD screen offers a resolution of 1800 x 1920 pixels per eye and supports refresh rates from 90 Hz to 120 Hz. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ processor. It features eye tracking and facial tracking, controllers with TruTouch haptics and precision tracking, and built-in 3D spatial audio support. The program, which will be played through the VR headset, is designed to use licensed programs featuring nature scenes (forest, sea, beach, etc.) and relaxing music for 20-30 minutes. The program content will be created by selecting nature sounds and music known to be effective in reducing stress and anxiety. To ensure the program's internal validity, the opinions of healthcare professionals with clinical experience will be obtained to assess whether the program achieves the intended relaxing effect.
Pain assessment
In measuring pain, a visual assessment scale (VAS) will be used, where the evaluation is made by making marks on a 100 mm or 10 cm vertical or horizontal line, where there is no pain at one end and the most severe pain at the other end. Pain will be measured using a visual analog scale (VAS), which uses markings on a 100 mm or 10 cm vertical or horizontal line, with no pain at one end and the most severe pain at the other. Pain will be measured before, during, and after dressing application.
Anxiety Assesment
State Trait Anxiety Inventary will be used. Before the dressing, the state and trait anxiety inventories will be administered. After the dressing, the state anxiety inventory will be administered again to assess anxiety. This constant value is 50 for state anxiety and 35 for trait anxiety. The resulting value represents the individual's anxiety score. Interpretation of Scores: The total score obtained from both scales ranges from 20 to 80. A higher score indicates a higher level of anxiety, while a lower score indicates a lower level of anxiety.
Patient satisfaction
Patients will be asked about their satisfaction with the application (not satisfied, undecided, satisfied, very satisfied) and the experimental group will be asked whether they would like to use the SG application again.
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