The effect of virtual reality glasses on pain and anxiety during vaccine injection in children aged 6-12

The research was conducted as a randomized controlled type experimental study to determine the effect of virtual reality glasses on pain and anxiety, applied during vaccine injection in children aged 6-12 years. The research was carried out in Sakarya Training and Research Hospital Pediatric Emergency Service between April 2019 and March 2021. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 70 children (experimental group=35, control group=35), who accepted to participate in the study as a result of the power analysis and met the sample selection criterias. In data collection, "Personal Information Form" was used to determine socio-demographic characteristics of children and families, "Children's Fear Scale (CFS)" was used to evaluate pre- and post-procedure anxiety, "Wong Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale-WBFPRS' was used to evaluate post-procedure pain level. During the vaccination (tetanus-diphtheria) application process, the children in the experimental group watched a video with virtual reality glasses, while the children in the control group were only given routine vaccination (tetanus-diphtheria). The datas obtained in the research were analyzed by transferring them to the IBM SPSS Statistics 26 package program. As a result of the independent sample tests applied, a statistically significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups in terms of Wong Baker Scale and CFS Scale scores (p<0,05). Accordingly, it was determined that the Wong Baker Scale and CFS Scale scores of the children in experimental group were significantly lower than the scores of the children in control group. As a result, it has been observed that the method of video watching with virtual reality glasses during vaccination has an effect on reducing pain and anxiety levels in children. Key Words: Pain, Anxiety, Vaccine Injection, Children, Distraction, Nursing, Virtual Reality