兰州大学循证社会科学交叉创新实验室 Innovation Laboratory of Evidence-based Social Sciences,Lanzhou University

Virtual reality biofeedback in health: A scoping review

2021-12-3

Over the past decades, virtual reality (VR) has found its way into biofeedback (BF) therapy programs. Using VR promises to overcome challenges encountered in traditional BF such as low treatment motivation, low attentional focus and the difficulty of transferring learnt abilities to everyday life. Yet, a comprehensive research synthesis is still missing. Hence, this scoping review aims to provide an overview over empirical studies on VR based BF regarding key outcomes, included samples, used soft- and hardware, BF parameters, mode of application and potential limitations. We systematically searched Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, CINAHL, Google Scholar and Open Grey for empirical research. Eighteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Samples mostly consisted of healthy (44.4%) and/or adult (77.7%) participants. Outcomes were mainly anxiety (44.4%), stress (44.4%) or pain reduction (11.1%), which were reduced by the VR-BF interventions at least as much as by classical BF. Participants in VR-BF interventions showed higher motivation and involvement as well as a better user experience. Heart rate or heart rate variability were the most frequently used BF parameters (50.0%), and most VR-BF interventions (72.2%) employed a natural environment (e.g., island). Currently, there is no clear evidence that VR-BF is more effective than traditional BF. Yet, results indicate that VR-BF may have advantages regarding motivation, user experience, involvement and attentional focus. Further research is needed to assess the specific impact of VR and gamification. Also, testing a broader range of clinical and younger samples would allow more far-reaching conclusions.

研究类型
系统评价再评价
人群
混合人群
主题
["技术资源","卫生服务"]
作者
Robin Lüddecke; Anna Felnhofer
国家
Australia
关键词
Biofeedback; Mental health; Motivation; Psychophysiology; Stress; Virtual reality.
来源期刊
Applied Psychophysiology And Biofeedback
发布日期
2021-12-3
全文链接
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34860290/
相关网址
https://www.healthsystemsevidence.org/articles/62fe6fcfef088708d8e1464d-virtual-reality-biofeedback-in-health-a-scoping-review?source=saved_email
DOI
10.1007/s10484-021-09529-9
学科领域
DiseasesOtherMental health and addictions