Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-enhanced Interventions on Preoperative Anxiety in Adults Undergoing Elective Surgery

NCT07379450 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: CIRB-2025-224-5
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 270
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Brief Summary: Preoperative anxiety is a common phenomenon in surgical patients, with a pooled global prevalence of 48%. Surgical patients with preoperative anxiety may negatively impact their psychological health and surgical outcomes. Recent studies have revealed the promising effects of virtual reality-enhanced interventions to improve preoperative anxiety symptoms among adults undergoing elective surgery. There is a lack of interventional studies to compare and evaluate the co-designed preoperative virtual reality-enhanced interventions in adult surgical patients. This study aims to examine the effects of co-designed virtual reality educational video and virtual reality distraction video on preoperative anxiety symptoms, vital signs, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and postoperative anxiety compared to usual care. This study will contribute by evaluating evidence-based, user-centered VIPA that may be effective for improving preoperative anxiety among adult surgical patients.

Conditions

Preoperative Anxiety

Keywords

Preoperative Anxiety; Virtual Reality

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Preoperative anxiety

  Preoperative anxiety will be measured using the Short Chinese Version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Du et al., 2022). Items are rated on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating higher anxiety. The Short Chinese Version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory demonstrates good psychometric properties.

  Baseline, Immediate post-intervention, Day of surgery

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Heart rate

  Baseline, Immediate post-intervention, Day of surgery

• Blood pressure

  Baseline, Immediate post-intervention, Day of surgery

• Temperature

  Baseline, Immediate post-intervention, Day of surgery

• Life satisfaction

  Baseline, Immediate post-intervention, Day of surgery, Post-operative day 7

• Evaluation of Virtual reality-enhanced interventions questionnaire

  Immediate post-intervention

Study Arms (3)

Virtual Reality Group 1 (Education approach)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in Virtual Reality Group 1 (Education approach) will receive a co-designed virtual reality educational 6-minute video via VR headset. The virtual reality educational video includes three main scenes, consisting of preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative content located at operating theatre reception, operating theatre, and post-anaesthetic care unit respectively.

Other: Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality Group 2 (Distraction approach)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in Virtual Reality Group 2 (Distraction approach) will receive a virtual reality distraction 6-minute video via VR headset. The virtual reality distraction video includes immersive natural scenes with concurrent music, without educational component.

Other: Virtual Reality

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in control group will receive usual care only.

Interventions

Virtual Reality OTHER

The Virtual Reality-enhanced Interventions on Preoperative Anxiety for adults undergoing elective surgery (VIPA) was developed based on theoretical basis, systematic review evidence, and qualitative study.

Virtual Reality Group 1 (Education approach); Virtual Reality Group 2 (Distraction approach)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age aged ≥18 years old
• Surgical patients attending Nurse Pre-anaesthetic Assessment Clinic (NPAC)
• American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) physical status ASA I or ASA II
• Able to communicate in Chinese

You may not qualify if:

• Patients who have a cognitive, communication or physical impairment precluding their ability to complete the study
• Patients who are prone to epilepsy or other neurological conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sin Lun CHAN: lead

Study Sites (1)

Kwong Wah Hospital

Kowloon, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

Central Study Contacts

Sin Lun CHAN

CONTACT

+852-44347185; darrenchan@link.cuhk.edu.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 21, 2026
• First Posted: January 30, 2026
• Study Start: February 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: May 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)