Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36282554›Full record

ReviewJMIR serious games2022

Virtual Reality Applications in Medicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review.

Federica Pallavicini, Alessandro Pepe, Massimo Clerici, Fabrizia Mantovani

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in JMIR serious games, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Federica PallaviciniDepartment of Human Sciences for Education, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2064-3823
Alessandro PepeDepartment of Human Sciences for Education, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8860-0702
Massimo ClericiDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8769-6474
Fabrizia MantovaniDepartment of Human Sciences for Education, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4772-9109

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundVirtual reality can play an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic in the health care sector. This technology has the potential to supplement the traditional in-hospital medical training and treatment, and may increase access to training and therapies in various health care settings.

objectiveThis systematic review aimed to describe the literature on health care-targeted virtual reality applications during the COVID-19 crisis.

methodsWe conducted a systematic search of the literature on the PsycINFO, Web of Science, and MEDLINE databases, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. The search string was as follows: "[(virtual reality)] AND [(COVID-19) OR (coronavirus) OR (SARS-CoV-2) OR (healthcare)]." Papers published in English after December 2019 in peer-reviewed journals were selected and subjected to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. We used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool to assess the quality of studies and the risk of bias.

resultsThirty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Seventeen studies showed the usefulness of virtual reality during the COVID-19 crisis for reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and promoting physical activity. Twenty-two studies revealed that virtual reality was a helpful learning and training tool during the COVID-19 crisis in several areas, including emergency medicine, nursing, and pediatrics. This technology was also used as an educational tool for increasing public understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic. Different levels of immersion (ie, immersive and desktop virtual reality), types of head-mounted displays (ie, PC-based, mobile, and standalone), and content (ie, 360° videos and photos, virtual environments, virtual reality video games, and embodied virtual agents) have been successfully used. Virtual reality was helpful in both face-to-face and remote trials.

conclusionsVirtual reality has been applied frequently in medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, with positive effects for treating several health conditions and for medical education and training. Some barriers need to be overcome for the broader adoption of virtual reality in the health care panorama.

trial registrationInternational Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (INPLASY) INPLASY202190108; https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2021-9-0108/.

Indexed as

COVID-19educationmedicinemental healthphysical healthtrainingvirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID36282554
PMCPMC9605086

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.