Effects of an Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention

Effects of an Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention Combined With Mindfulness-based Therapy on Mental Health in Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Some recent studies demonstrated caregivers may experience negative emotions such as anxiety and sadness, which may also affect normal treatment during the epidemic. As the pandemic continues, mental health support, encouragement , and a sense of purpose are needed to support healthcare workers.

Therapeutic VR+MBT was provided using a head-mounted display which designed to enclose eyes and block external stimuli almost entirely. Patients can see immersive natural scenes through VR devices and hear stereo sounds through headphones. We uploaded a programme, which was designed to induce recordings of guided meditations (The same as the MBT), musics for meditation and consists of meditation-videos of 40 minutes. We will guide patients to choose their favorite meditation videos, such as forest, seaside, lake, snow mountain, field and so on.

39 participates randomized and allocated to this group. MBT was conducted as an 8-week group intervention. Sessions typically began with formal mindfulness meditations that include breathing exercises, prolonged expiratory relaxation, body scan, and meditation. MBT was delivered by the first author, who has specialized training in mindfulness meditation.

The questionnaire of the Chinese version of DASS-21 has a total of 21 items and measures three negative emotional experiences of depression, anxiety and stress

Inclusion Criteria: Registered nurses (RN) who work in target departments were included. The target departments mainly included internal medicine, surgical, emergency department, where nurses had direct mutual engagement with patients. Exclusion Criteria: Nurses who have not been involved in the COVID-19 volunteer service.