Virtual Reality Hypnosis and Nurses' Stress

Summary

The practice of nursing is based on helping relationships and empathy. The work is physically, mentally and emotionally demanding. This requires the mobilization of personal resources (lifestyle, coping strategies) and work resources (managerial, medical support, recognition) to cope with stress. When these resources are present, nurses can activate a resilience process through coping strategies. However, stress levels and emotional impact are such that they can lead to states of suffering and trauma such as compassion fatigue (CF). The prevalence of CF is high in the nursing profession and particularly among neonatal intensive care (NICU) nurses.

Several levels of intervention exist to prevent CF in services: organizational, inter-individual and individual. At the individual level, certain interventions such as meditation have been studied, showing positive effects with the highest levels of evidence.

On the other hand, interventions such as hypnosis have not yet been studied in this context. There is, however, an interest in studying hypnosis as a non-pharmacological intervention to reduce stress and improve emotional regulation. Indeed, the hypnotic process (promoting attentional and cognitive rest, redirecting attentional focus, reducing mental effort) is a resource activator. In order to combine individual and organizational support, the intervention must be offered in the workplace and during working hours, given the difficulty nurses have in extracting themselves from the service, the restricted break time and the acceptability of the virtual reality system. In a context where break time is short and precious, it is necessary to use a tool that adapts to these constraints. Virtual reality with the HypnoVR® tool meets these needs. This device acts as a restorative environment. It has already proven its effectiveness in the care of painful and stressed patients in critical situations. It has not yet been studied in the context of work-related stress in healthcare professionals, such as neonatal intensive care nurses. The protocol takes into account the results of studies reporting the effects associated with the use of virtual reality (VR).

Conditions

• Hypnosis
• Virtual Reality Therapy
• Stress
• Compassion Fatigue
• Compassion Satisfaction
• Emotions
• Anxiety

Interventions

DEVICE

Virtual reality Hypnosis

The experimental group of 22 participants consists of a hypnosis intervention using a virtual reality device (HypnoVR®). Participants are seated in a quiet area of the unit: They choose a visual scenario from among 3 proposals, guaranteeing the conditions of a restorative environment. During each session, the same script (support mode) is spoken and the same music (serenity program with soothing tones) is associated with the script. Each participant is fitted with a virtual reality mask and a headset with active noise reduction.

OTHER

Control arm (SEQ):

Restoration time Participants are seated in a quiet area of the unit. The control group of 21 participants consists of a break with the following instructions and suggestions: "Take advantage of this break, this time just for you, to recharge your batteries. Sit in this armchair and I suggest you think of something pleasant and comfortable".

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Rennes 2

  collaborator OTHER

• CARESP: Cellule d'animation régionale en soins palliatifs

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Estelle MICHINOV, PhD · University of Rennes 2

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-11-04

Primary Completion

2025-02-02

Completion

2025-02-12

Countries

• France

Study Locations