Effect of Virtual Reality on Pain Control during Burn Dressing

Background: Wound pain is unpleasant sensory and emotional experience for patients with burn during dressing and remains unacceptably high with the use of the pharmacological analgesics which associated with many adverse physical and psychological squeals which lead to patients' dissatisfaction with pain management. Purpose: to evaluate the effect of virtual reality application on pain control during burn dressing. Design: A quasi experimental research design was utilized. Setting: The study was conducted in the Plastic and Burn Surgery Department at Menoufia University Hospital (Emergency Hospital), Menoufia governorate, Egypt. Sample: A convenient sample of 90 adult patients were included. They were randomly assigned into two equal groups 45 patients each. Instruments: Two instruments were used in data collection: Structured Interviewing Questionnaire and the Visual Analogue Pain Scale (VAS). Results: The study results revealed a highly statistically significant decrease in mean pain scores among the study group at first and second dressing post intervention (2.91+1.70 VS 9.55+.81 and 2.7333+1.65694 VS 9.4222+1.23378 respectively as compared to control. Conclusion: Application of virtual reality intervention in patients with burn improves pain intensity during burn dressing.