Effects of Virtual Reality and Nature Sounds on Pain and Anxiety in Women Having Cesarean Section

This study was conducted to determine the effects of virtual reality application on pain and anxiety in women who gave birth by caesarean section. It was applied to women who had given birth by caesarean section at a public hospital in northern Turkey, voluntarily agreed to participate in the study, and were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=40) and control (n=40) groups. Women in the intervention group were taught how to use virtual reality goggles. After the first mobilisation, women were shown a nature landscape video through virtual reality goggles (VRG) accompanied by nature sounds for an average of 20 minutes. The aim of this application was to enable women to view nature images more effectively accompanied by nature sounds, thereby helping them to focus on the images and sounds, distract their attention, relax, and escape the tension of their surroundings. The application was carried out with the women in a semi-reclining position and without sleeping. The same application was applied to each woman, and the glasses were disinfected with Dermosept surface disinfectant, which provides cold sterilisation, before the application. No application was made to the women in the control group; only the hospital's routine care was applied. The data were collected by the researcher through face-to-face interviews based on the statements of women after caesarean section.

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Key information

Conditions

Obstetrics and Gynaecology Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Caesarean Section Mental Disorders Neurologic Manifestations Nursing Pain Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Gynecology and Obstetrics Department affiliated to the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of Samsun Education and Research Hospital

Samsun, 55, Turkey (Türkiye)

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Volunteering to participate in the study
Being over 18 years of ageBeing able to read and write in Turkish
Giving birth at term, having a single, live and healthy baby
The baby being with the mother
Having a healthy/risk-free pregnancy
Having had spinal anesthesia.

Exclusion criteria

Having a diagnosed psychiatric disease,
Having a mental disability and communication problem,
Having a vision or hearing problem,
Developing complications during or after a cesarean section,
Having any obstacles to postpartum mobilization.

Treatment and study plan

Virtual Reality Glasses

Device

Pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods are applied in the management of pain and anxiety after cesarean section (Tetik & Tekinemre, 2017). In addition to medical treatment during the post-cesarean care process, complementary and supportive non-pharmacological approaches can be used to address the woman holistically and provide multi-faceted contributions to the health of the mother and baby (Ali, 2022; Bayraktar, 2023). One of the non-pharmacological approaches, virtual reality glasses, is a device that provides two or three-dimensional environments to stimulate our senses by creating illusions of images (Appel et al., 2021). SGG creates a therapeutic effect by diverting attention, provides relaxation, and can thus be used in the management of pain and anxiety (Ayed et al., 2019). It has been determined that virtual reality glasses are an effective method in the management of pain and anxiety in the field of nursing (Akıncı & Aydın Özkan, 2024).

Primary outcomes

State Anxiety Level

Time frame: Anxiety levels were assessed before and after the intervention.

State anxiety level will be measured with Spielberger State Anxiety Scale. The Turkish reliability and validity study of the scale, which was developed by Spielberger and his colleagues to measure an individual's state and trait anxiety levels, was conducted by Öner and Le Compte in 1983. The scale examines anxiety in two sub-dimensions: State Anxiety measures an individual's feelings under a certain moment and condition, while Trait Anxiety expresses the individual's general anxiety level. Each statement in the scale is a 4-point Likert-type scale. There are 20 items in both types in the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale. The total score obtained from the scale varies between 20 and 80, with high scores indicating a high level of anxiety. The scale does not have any cut-off value. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was found to be 0.83 for State Anxiety.
Pain Level

Time frame: Pain levels were assessed before and after the intervention.

Pain level will be measured with Visual Analog Scale. The use of the scale, developed by Price et al. in 1983, is achieved by measuring pain based on the statements of the people participating in the research. It is a one-dimensional, easy-to-administer scale and is widely used. It is a scale that the individual evaluates by making marks on a horizontal or vertical line of 10 cm or 100 mm, indicating that one end is very good and the other end is very poor. In our study, the scale starts with "mild pain" and ends with "very severe pain". A higher score from the scale indicates increased pain intensity.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Ondokuz Mayıs University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of Virtual Reality and Nature Sounds on Pain and Anxiety After Cesarean Section: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start: 2024
Primary completion: 2025
Study completion: 2025
First posted: Oct 31, 2024
Registry last updated: Aug 1, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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Completed