Experience of heart failure patients in mobilization with virtual reality: mixed methods study.
Larissa Gussatschenko Caballero, Iasmin Borges Fraga, Carlos Eduardo Maciel Tremea and 5 others
PMID 40955916WHAT IT FOUND
Adding immersive virtual reality to early mobilization did not show a clear difference in the main breathing sensation outcome compared with mobilization alone.
Patients in both groups rated the procedure positively.
Key findings
01The breathing sensation outcome did not show a significant difference between the virtual reality group and the early mobilization alone group.
02Most patients in both groups rated the mobilization experience as good or excellent and were promoters for recommendation.
03Qualitative interviews identified psychological effects, physical performance, and innovation, and the innovation theme appeared only in the virtual reality group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was single-center and small. It included 60 patients, and 58 patients started the randomized protocol. Two patients did not perform any mobilization sessions because their condition worsened. Overcrowding and early discharge may have interrupted the three-day protocol. Qualitative analysis intentionally selected patients who were promoters and rated the experience good or excellent, so negative perceptions were not the focus. The main breathing outcome was reported as counts of better or same sensation, not as a between-group p value in the supplied text. The intervention combined VR with cycle ergometer exercise, sitting, standing, and walking, so the contribution of individual mobilization components cannot be separated.
Declared interests
Funding was partial support from CAPES, CNPq, and the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre Research Incentive Fund (FIPE). The supplied text does not report a conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the enthusiastic qualitative reports as proof that virtual reality improves early mobilization. The group that used virtual reality also received the early mobilization protocol, including cycle ergometer exercise, sitting, standing, and walking, and the control group received early mobilization alone. The quantitative comparison did not show a significant difference between groups, and the analyzed interviews were chosen from patients who already gave positive ratings.