Virtual reality (VR) is the capability to interact with a digitally replicated environment or object that mimics an actual experience for the user. In healthcare settings, VR is used to improve movement for patients undergoing rehabilitation or to relax and distract patients during medical procedures. VR is still at the initial stages of its implementation and use in clinical practice. In this article, we present a scoping review of the existing literature to identify obstacles and barriers to the implementation of VR in healthcare settings.
The majority of the issues discovered by this study related the adopter system categories and organizational categories within the NASSS framework. This included the need for healthcare professionals to receive education and training about VR, the lack research and evidence about the added value of virtual reality in the context of treatment and the perception of low confidence and self-efficacy to use VR in patient care. Many studies suggested the use of behavioral modification techniques like education and training or intervision groups to assist clinicians in their decision-making process in relation to VR use.
Facilitators were less frequently identified for reasons such as the younger patient’s age, which could be more open to technology and feel more comfortable with it, or the fact that VR can provide an immersive and interactive learning environment that stimulates the senses and encourages an understanding of more complicated scientific concepts. VR’s ability to recreate real-world settings such as the surface or structure of atoms, can be a powerful educational tool that lets students investigate and experiment with abstract and complex concepts.
