Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36416881›Full record

ReviewJMIR serious games2022

The Effects of Virtual Reality in Maternal Delivery: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Nuo Xu, Sijing Chen, Yan Liu, Yuewen Jing, Ping Gu

Open access · goldAbstract 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 18 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
13.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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

18 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. Efficacy of Virtual Reality Program for Mental Health Promotion in Pregnant Women.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
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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

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Nuo Xu *School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4005-3193
Sijing Chen *School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4881-580X
Yan LiuSchool of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6429-0471
Yuewen JingSchool of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0002-8882
Ping GuSchool of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6168-515X
Nanjing Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundExtreme labor pain has negative effects; pharmacologic analgesic modalities are effective but are accompanied by adverse effects. Virtual reality (VR) works as a distracting nonpharmacologic intervention for pain and anxiety relief; however, the effects of VR use in laboring women is unknown.

objectiveOur study aimed to determine the safety and effectiveness of VR technology during labor and delivery and investigate whether it impacts labor and patient satisfaction.

methodsIn all, 7 databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wan-Fang Database) were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials of VR use in pregnancy and childbirth from the time of database construction until November 24, 2021. Two researchers extracted data and evaluated study quality using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool 2.0. Outcome measures were labor pain, anxiety, duration, satisfaction, and adverse events. Meta-analyses were performed where possible.

resultsA total of 12 studies with 1095 participants were included, of which 1 and 11 studies were rated as "Low risk" and "Some concerns" for risk of bias, respectively. Of the 12 studies, 11 reported labor pain, 7 reported labor anxiety, and 4 reported labor duration. Meta-analysis revealed that VR use could relieve pain during labor (mean difference -1.81, 95% CI -2.04 to -1.57; P<.001) and the active period (standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.41, 95% CI -0.68 to -0.14; P=.003); reduce anxiety (SMD -1.39, 95% CI -1.99 to -0.78; P<.001); and improve satisfaction with delivery (relative risk 1.32, 95% CI 1.10-1.59; P=.003). The effects of VR on the duration of the first (SMD -1.12, 95% CI -2.38 to 0.13; P=.08) and second (SMD -0.22, 95% CI -0.67 to 0.24; P=.35) stages of labor were not statistically significant.

conclusionsVR is safe and effective in relieving maternal labor pain and anxiety; however, due to the heterogeneity among studies conducted to date, more rigorous, large-scale, and standardized randomized controlled trials are required to provide a higher-quality evidence base for the use of VR technology in maternal labor, with the aim of improving experience and outcomes.

trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42021295410; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=295410.

Indexed as

anxietychildbirthdeliverylaborlabor painmaternitymental healthmeta-analysispainpregnancypregnant womenreviewsystematic reviewtechnologyvirtual realityvirtual reality technology

Identifiers

PMID36416881
PMCPMC9730208
OpenAlexW4310333810

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.