Effect of Virtual Reality Application on Pain Intensity, Anxiety Level, and Women's Satisfaction during Intrauterine Device Insertion

Background: Intrauterine devices (IUD) offer highly effective contraception, with a failure rate of less than 1% annually; nevertheless, insertion pain and anxiety limit uptake. Virtual Reality (VR) distraction emerges as a promising non-pharmacological solution by multisensory immersion. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of a VR application on pain intensity, anxiety level, and women's satisfaction during IUD insertion. Method: A quasiexperimental design (nonequivalent control group pretest/posttest) was adopted. A purposive sample of 80 women was recruited at the Family Planning Clinic, General Kafr El-Sheikh Hospital, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt, and 80 IUD users were enrolled. Data were collected by a structured interview schedule, a numerical rating scale, the state-trait anxiety inventory scale, and satisfaction with VR application scale. Results: There was no significant difference between the control and VR groups in terms of pain intensity and anxiety level at pre-insertion (p > 0.05). During insertion: The mean anxiety score dropped to 43.7±10.5 in the VR group, while it remained higher in the control group (52.7±12.1). In addition, after 5 minutes from IUD insertion, there was a highly statistical significance that was found in the differences in mean pain between the control and VR groups (p