African E-Learning Research | 14 October 2004
Virtual Reality in Pain Management for Chronic Disease Patients in Lagos, Nigeria: An Implementation Study
T, a, i, w, o, A, d, e, b, a, y, o, ,, F, e, m, i, F, a, g, b, e, l, e, ,, A, m, i, n, a, A, d, e, o, g, u, n
Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) has shown promise in managing pain for chronic disease patients, offering immersive environments that can distract from discomfort and provide guided relaxation exercises. Participants were recruited through community health centers and randomly assigned to either the VR intervention group or a control group. Pre- and post-intervention assessments included self-reported pain levels and patient experience surveys. VR usage led to a statistically significant decrease in reported pain intensity (mean pre-intervention score: 7.5, mean post-intervention score: 4.2; $p < 0.01$) among patients who used the platform for at least 30 minutes. The VR intervention demonstrated effectiveness in reducing chronic disease-related pain. Future research should explore longer-term effects and cost-effectiveness of this approach. Further studies are needed to validate these findings across diverse populations and settings, while also investigating the long-term impacts and economic viability of implementing VR platforms for pain management.