Virtual Reality to Support Healthcare Workers in Managing Stress and Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Survey

ABSTRACT

Virtual reality appears an interesting technology to offer healthcare workers innovative programs for managing stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and when the crisis will be over. However, the unfamiliarity and the cost of virtual reality could represent significant technical and socioeconomic obstacles in its adoption in the mental health panorama. Therefore, this study aimed to explore in a sample of doctors and nurses the use of virtual reality, their interest in this technology, and the availability to spend for purchasing a virtual reality system. Forty-four doctors and nurses completed an online survey (72.2% female;mean age 41.5 ± 10.7). Results showed that (a) most healthcare practitioners have never tried virtual reality and have a low level of knowledge of this technology, regardless of profession, gender, and age group;(b) healthcare workers showed medium interest in using virtual reality-based programs for stress and anxiety management, both at home and in the hospital, with differences between men and women (p <.01);(c) the cost of virtual reality systems represents for many doctors and nurses a critical barrier to the use of this technology for psychological support. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.