Virtual Reality Implantation in Paediatric Rehabilitation (IMPLANT-VR4 CHILD)

Children with chronic conditions and rehabilitation needs may require long periods of care. Some rehabilitation interventions can cause stress, anxiety or pain and may be unmotivating for children. However, in the context of motor learning, for example, current scientific research supports the intensification of training.

Motivation is a fundamental part of rehabilitation treatment. Sometimes the length of treatment can lead to a lack of motivation. If motivation decreases in children, this may lead to a reduction in the intensity required to be effective in rehabilitation. Finding efficient solutions to facilitate the rehabilitation process is therefore a major challenge. Virtual reality (VR) may be interesting to increase the duration of motor rehabilitation while maintaining motivation.

VR is a promising tool to address these challenges. VR can be defined as the digital simulation of a virtual environment with which the user can interact using our own movements. Immersive VR devices use a head-mounted display that allows full visual immersion in the virtual environment. Non-immersive VR devices involve two-dimensional virtual environment in flat-screen displays, and include the category of AVG. It has been studied in many areas of paediatric rehabilitation (motor function, pain management, attention disorders, cognitive function). For example, in motor rehabilitation, the playful aspect of VR helps to maintain children's motivation, while facilitating motor learning. VR games can be played at high intensity. Rehabilitation goals can also be set by the child when using VR, increasing the effectiveness of rehabilitation management.

The aim of implementation science is to facilitate the integration and use of evidence in clinical practice. There are often differences between research findings and the methods used in clinical practice. It often takes several years for research findings to be implemented in clinical practice. It is estimated that it takes about 17 years in some fields for a scientific discovery to be used in clinical practice. There are a number of factors that may explain this long delay. First of all, there are several stages in the research process to develop practice guidelines. These stages are relatively long. In addition, clinicians often have little time to read newly published data, and these data are not always easily accessible.

VR is still rarely used into routine clinical practice, despite promising results and the enthusiasm it generates in research. There are barriers, such as the time required to prepare sessions and a lack of knowledge about the devices. Some barriers to the implementation of VR are common to several rehabilitation centres, and are frequently found in the literature, while others are specific to one rehabilitation centre. In order to address the specific barriers, it is necessary to identify them within the rehabilitation centre itself.