Deep Relaxation Using Virtual Reality Intervention Before Surgery for Healthcare Professionals Working in the Operating Room

The goal of this clinical trials is to primary learn if deep relaxation using Virtual Reality (VR) compared to a low stimulus environment can lower perceived and measured stress in healthcare professionals working in the operating room.

We aim to determine:

• whether the use of a low-stimulus environment significantly lowers the stress response in OR health care workers just before entering the OR;
• whether the use of a responsive VR system environment significantly lowers the stress response in OR health care workers just before entering the OR;
• Whether the use of a responsive VR environment is both an effective and cost-effective solution compared to the low-stimulus environment, in terms of significantly mitigating stress in OR team members as measured by their biometrics, just before they enter the OR to do their job.

Hypothesis

• The use of a 10-minute real-time adaptive VR intervention or a low-stimulus environment intervention administered at least 15 minutes before entering the operating room (OR), significantly reduces stress in OR staff, as measured by a within-person reduction in heart rate of at least 10 beats per minute (BPM) over the 10-minute intervention period
• The reduction in heart rate over a 10-minute intervention period is significantly greater for the real-time adaptive VR intervention compared to the low-stimulus environment intervention, with an expected mean difference (delta) of 5 BPM, indicating superior stress-reducing effects of the VR intervention.
• The use of a real-time adaptive VR intervention and the use of a low stimulus environment intervention of 10 minutes at least 15 minutes before entering the OR significantly reduces perceived stress for OR staff, as measured by Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) stress scores within person.