The use of virtual reality in cancer patient health education: A scoping review.
Fangping Chen, Xingyue Guo, Dingyuan Wei and 5 others
PMID 41684620WHAT IT FOUND
Cancer VR education tools include videos, immersive environments, radiotherapy simulations, 3D models, games and virtual characters.
Small studies report better knowledge, less anxiety and some behavior change, but long-term effects and privacy are unclear.
Key findings
01Eight VR technologies were used for cancer patient health education, with VR videos most common in 14 studies (50.0%).
02VR health education was applied in radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery and health behavior promotion.
03Only ten studies examined safety concerns, and only one addressed privacy concerns.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Most included studies were small or feasibility studies, so they cannot establish that VR causes better outcomes. Outcomes were mostly measured immediately after the intervention, with few follow-ups, so long-term effects are unclear. Participants were mostly hospitalised, female, breast cancer patients with secondary education or higher, so results may not apply to older, less educated or home-based patients. Only ten studies examined safety concerns, seven excluded at-risk patients rather than mitigating adverse events, and only one addressed privacy. The review included only Chinese and English studies, which may miss relevant work. VR tools were heterogeneous and often combined, so the contribution of any single technology cannot be separated.
Declared interests
This work was funded by the Scientific Research Fund of Zhejiang Provincial Education Department (Grant number Y202457058). The authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that VR improves cancer education. It is a scoping review of small, heterogeneous studies, mostly measured immediately after use, and it did not establish causality.