Work-related stress experienced by surgical nurses: Evaluating the effectiveness of virtual reality in a crossover-designed randomized controlled study

Abstract

Work-related stress is a common problem among healthcare providers. This study aimed to examine the effect of watching a relaxing video using virtual reality glasses (VR-G) during break period of a working shift on the stress levels of surgical nurses. The protocol of this study was registered with the ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System (NCT06022783). Thirty nurses included in this crossover designed randomized controlled study with no VR-G and VR-G procedures. They watched a relaxing video using a VR-G for 20 minutes and two procedures were completed with a 1-week washout period. The total post-shift stress scale scores of nurses within the VR-G procedure was significantly lower than the no VR-G procedure (p = 0.000). The VR interventions at the clinical settings to relax nurses may be beneficial to cope with the occupational stress.