Effects of Virtual Museum Visit on Pain, Fatigue, and Anxiety in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

The Effects of Virtual Museum Visit With Virtual Reality Glasses on Pain, Fatigue, and Anxiety in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Symptom management is the most important aspect of clinical cancer care. Virtual reality-based interventions can be used to improve cancer patients' experiences with medical treatment, with their distraction-based effects. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of virtual museum visits with virtual reality glasses on pain, fatigue, and anxiety in patients receiving chemotherapy. The study included a museum visit with virtual reality glasses during the procedure in addition to routine treatments for patients in the intervention group. Patients in the control group were given only their routine treatments. Data will be collected using the Personal Information Form (PIF), Hirai Cancer Fatigue Scale, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Beck Anxiety Scale (BAÖ). In the first interview, the patient was also presented with virtual museum options and the museums he/she wanted to visit were listed. In addition, the patients in the Intervention Group were shown virtual museums with 53 different themes on the website prepared by the General Directorate of Information Technologies of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which is located on the website ''https://sanalmuze.gov.tr'' belonging to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the museums they wanted to visit in each session according to their preferences were listed. In the meantime, the Intervention Group was explained how to use the virtual glasses and they will be tested. One week after the first test, the patients in the Intervention Group will visit a virtual museum on the theme preferred by the patients using virtual glasses for an average of 20 minutes for a total of five consecutive weeks. In the fifth virtual tour session, which is the third and last application session, measurements (Visual Analog Scale, Hirai Cancer Fatigue Scale and Beck Anxiety Scale) will be administered. The control group will not receive any intervention other than routine treatment.The museum visit applied to the Intervention Group will also be applied to the control group after the study is completed, taking into account the ethical dimension.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fatigue; Anxiety; Chemotherapy Effect; Pain Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Art Therapy (Virtual Museum Visit)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 64
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Sivas
    • Mollaoğlu, Sivas, Turkey (Türkiye), 58140
      • Mukadder

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• The inclusion criteria of the sample were having received at least one course of chemotherapy and continuing chemotherapy
• Having not visited a virtual museum with VR glasses before,
• Having no difficulty in communicating,
• Having no mental problems, being 18 years of age or older,
• Agreeing to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• The exclusion criteria of the sample were having not received chemotherapy or having completed treatment.
• Having Stage IV cancer
• Having difficulty seeing and communicating.
• Being under the age of 18
• The desire to withdraw from the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental: Art Therapy Intervention Group; The Intervention Group is informed about how to use the virtual glasses and is tested. One week after the first test, the patients in the Intervention Group visit a virtual museum on the theme of the patients' choice for an average of 20 minutes using virtual glasses for a total of five consecutive weeks. In the fifth virtual tour session, which is the third and final application session, measurements (Visual Analog Scale, Hirai Cancer Fatigue Scale and Beck Anxiety Scale) are made in both groups.	Other: Art Therapy (Virtual Museum Visit); Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that creates simulated settings in which users can interact and experience as if they were physically there.Virtual Reality typically involves the use of a headset or glasses that display the virtual environment, as well as other input devices such as controllers or gloves that allow users to interact with the virtual world
No Intervention: No Intervention: Control Group; No virtual museum visit was applied to the control group. Scales were applied to individuals. For the control group, evaluations were made with scales three times in total.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hirai Cancer Fatigue Scale	The scale, originally named "Hirai Cancer Fatigue Scale", was developed by Kazue Hirai et al. in 2015 and consisted of 15 items . The scale is used to measure fatigue in cancer patients and has a 5-point Likert design. Each item on the scale is evaluated as 1 "not at all", 2 "very little", 3 "a little", 4 "a lot", and 5 "very much". It has 3 sub-dimensions (Physical-Mental, Activity-Related Sensitivity, and Cognitive Sensitivity). Items 1-6 on the scale constitute the Physical-Mental Sub-Dimension, items 7-12 constitute the Activity-Related Sensitivity Sub-Dimension, and items 12-15 constitute the Cognitive Sensitivity Sub-Dimension. The scale has no cut-off point. The minimum value of the scale is 15 and the maximum value is 75, with high scores indicating increased fatigue, while low scores indicating less fatigue. The validity and reliability study in our country was conducted by Mencel.	It will take 5 weeks to collect data three times after randomization is done. The first measurement of fatigue scale will be done in the first week, the second measurement in the third week and the third measurement in the fifth week of virtual muse
Visual Analog Scale (VAS)	VAS, which evaluates the intensity of pain, is widely used in adults. The scale was developed by Price et al. as a scale consisting of a single 10 mm line that evaluates the intensity of pain. The two end definitions of the parameter to be evaluated are written at both ends of the line and the patient is asked to indicate where his/her condition is appropriate on this line by drawing a line, putting a dot, or pointing. For example, for pain, no pain is written at one end and very severe pain is written at the other end and the patient marks his/her current condition on this line. The length of the distance from the point where there is no pain to the point marked by the patient indicates the patient's pain. It has been shown that the line on which the test is applied is not affected by whether it is horizontal or vertical or by its length. The average of the values obtained for the patients is taken.	It will take 5 weeks to collect data three times after randomization is done. The first measurement of VAS will be done in the first week, the second measurement in the third week and the third measurement in the fifth week of virtual museum visit.
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)	The inventory was developed by Beck et al. to determine the level and frequency of anxiety symptoms experienced by individuals. The scale has a Likert design with self-assessment consisting of 21 items and is scored between 0-3. The high total score indicates the high level of anxiety experienced by the individual. The score range varies between 0-63. The scale is evaluated as 0-7 points, no anxiety symptoms, 8-15 points, mild anxiety, 16-25 points, moderate anxiety, 26-63 points, and severe anxiety symptoms. The validity and reliability study in our country was conducted by Ulusoy et al.	It will take 5 weeks to collect data three times after randomization is done. The first measurement of BAI will be done in the first week, the second measurement in the third week and the third measurement in the fifth week of virtual museum visit.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Cumhuriyet University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Price DD, McGrath PA, Rafii A, Buckingham B. The validation of visual analogue scales as ratio scale measures for chronic and experimental pain. Pain. 1983 Sep;17(1):45-56. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(83)90126-4.
• Beck AT, Epstein N, Brown G, Steer RA. An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: psychometric properties. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1988 Dec;56(6):893-7. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.56.6.893. No abstract available.
• Hirai K, Kanda K, Takagai J, Hosokawa M. Development of the Hirai Cancer Fatigue Scale: Testing its reliability and validity. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2015 Aug;19(4):427-32. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2014.12.004. Epub 2015 Feb 2.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 12, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 12, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): May 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 14, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 19, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): February 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 21, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 18, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Mental Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Cancer Pain; Anxiety Disorders; Fatigue; Therapeutics; Complementary Therapies; Patient Care; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Sensory Art Therapies; Art Therapy
• Other Study ID Numbers: SCUniv

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: 25 May 2025
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No