Effect of Education Given With Virtual Reality Glasses on Self-Care Ability of Patients After Bariatric Surgery

Effect of Education Given With Virtual Reality Glasses on Self-Care Ability of Patients After Bariatric Surgery

This research aims to determine the effect of training given via virtual reality glasses on the self-care ability of patients after bariatric surgery. This study is a single-center, parallel-group, open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial. This study will be conducted with 60 patients who underwent colorectal surgery between August 2025 and December 2025. Participants will be randomized into two groups as the intervention group (n=30) and the control group (n=30). All patients in the experimental and control groups will be asked to fill out the "Informed Consent Form" and the "Self-Care Ability Scale" by the researchers on the day before the surgery, and the patients who agree to participate in the study will be given the "Patient Introduction Form" and "Self-Care Ability Scale" by the researchers. The "Simulator Illness Questionnaire" used in the Virtual Reality disease field will be applied to the patients in the experimental group, and their physiological conditions will be determined before the application. The patients in the experimental group will be given 15-20 minutes of discharge training with virtual reality glasses before being discharged after bariatric surgery. Watching videos with virtual reality glasses will be applied by the researcher in the patient rooms and beds. The Simulator Illness Questionnaire will be repeated at the end of the application. There will be no compelling effect that will negatively affect the health of the patients during the application, and the application will be terminated when the patients feel uncomfortable. A safe environment will be created so that there are no objects around the patients that they can bump into or trip over. The virtual reality glasses will be applied after a 5-10 minute trial period with the observer at the beginning. The patient can end the study at any time. If the patients use glasses/lenses, compliance will be checked. In addition, the patients in the experimental group will be counseled for 3 months.

The control group patients will not be subjected to intervention and the clinic's routine practices will continue.

All patients in the experimental and control groups will be asked about their Body Mass Index via telephone interviews at 1 and 3 months after bariatric surgery and the "Self-Care Ability Scale" will be filled out.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are 18 years of age or older, 65 years of age or younger,
• Who have undergone laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy or laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery,
• Who have not developed any complications during or after the surgical procedure,
• Who volunteer to participate in the study will be included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who have not undergone laparoscopic surgery,
• Patients with neurological or psychological problems,
• Patients who have been transferred to the intensive care unit after surgery, - Emergency and unplanned cases,
• Patients diagnosed with cancer,
• Patients with visual, auditory or systemic disorders,
• Patients with balance problems,
• Patients diagnosed with hypertension and hypotension,
• Patients diagnosed with anxiety disorder or epilepsy will be excluded from the study.