Effect of guided imagery relaxation on anxiety in cervical cancer: randomized clinical trial.
Edenice de Oliveira Santana, Leonel Dos Santos Silva, Luana Aparecida Alves da Silva and 4 others
PMID 37820123WHAT IT FOUND
Women with cervical cancer who added guided imagery through virtual reality to radiochemotherapy had falling anxiety scores over time, while control women's scores rose.
The difference favored guided imagery.
Key findings
01Guided imagery relaxation delivered through virtual reality plus standard treatment was associated with falling state anxiety scores over time, while standard treatment alone was associated with rising scores.
02At baseline, trait anxiety scores were higher in the guided imagery group than in the control group (42.11 vs 36.61, p=0.01).
03No loss to follow-up or adverse events, side effects, or protocol deviations were reported.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 52 women were randomized, and recruitment was interrupted by COVID-19 before the planned 71 participants were reached. The trial was single-center and non-masked, so participants knew which treatment they received. The guided imagery group had higher baseline trait anxiety scores than the control group (42.11 vs 36.61, p=0.01). The intervention combined virtual reality, guided imagery, relaxation, controlled breathing, muscle movements, and nature videos, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Anxiety was self-reported, and no biomarkers or qualitative data were collected to explain the change. Safety was not formally evaluated, although no adverse events were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude virtual reality alone reduces anxiety in all cancer patients. The trial tested guided imagery relaxation delivered through virtual reality only in women with cervical cancer during radiochemotherapy. Each woman also received weekly chemotherapy, five teletherapy sessions per month, and four brachytherapy insertions per month. The intervention also included guided imagery, relaxation, controlled breathing, muscle movements, and nature videos. The contribution of any single component cannot be separated.