Evaluation of a Pre-surgical Virtual Reality Simulation for Cancer Surgery Patients

Preoperative Virtual Reality for Cancer Surgery Patients: A Feasibility and Pilot Study

This study will pilot test and explore the feasibility of a virtual reality simulation of the operating room environment to reduce anxiety/distress in cancer surgery patients. Study objectives are to evaluate recruitment and data collection procedures, outcome measures, participant feedback on the virtual reality operating room intervention, and the inclusion of a treatment as usual group, and effects of the intervention on symptoms of anxiety/distress. Results of this study will inform the design of an upcoming larger-scale RCT to assess the efficacy of this intervention

Inclusion Criteria:

• Over the age of 18
• Can speak and read English
• Has a cancer diagnosis
• Scheduled/being scheduled to undergo cancer surgery under general anesthesia at the Health Sciences Centre (Winnipeg, MB)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those who do not meet any inclusion criteria
• Those who are not competent to provide informed consent (e.g., due to cognitive impairment)
• Those who are unable to participate in a virtual reality intervention (e.g., due to visual/auditory impairment)