Virtual Reality Interventions of Daily Versus Weekly Data Collection in Patient-Reported Outcomes Among Adults With Cancer: Pilot Survey Study

JMIR Form Res. 2025 Jul 29;9:e73506. doi: 10.2196/73506.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality (VR) interventions are increasingly used in health care settings to improve patient-reported outcomes (PROs). PROs are commonly evaluated at weekly intervals with data collected via digital surveys. While weekly assessments have benefits, VR devices enable more frequent in-device data collection. It remains unclear whether PROs collected more frequently provide more information on these interventions than PROs collected more infrequently.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study explored differences between daily and weekly PRO data collection in a VR intervention with nature imagery, with and without guided imagery, among patients with cancer.

METHODS: Patients with cancer (n=8) were randomly assigned to one of four intervention groups: (1) virtual reality-assisted guided imagery (VRAGI), (2) VR without guided imagery, (3) desktop VR with guided imagery, or (4) desktop VR without guided imagery. Devices were mailed to participants’ homes for 15-20 minutes of daily use over 3 weeks. Weekly outcomes (pain, anxiety, depression, and well-being) were assessed using items from the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. Daily outcomes were captured via in-device pre-post surveys. Data were analyzed descriptively, using visual trend comparisons to explore patterns.

RESULTS: Of 41 patients who consented, 8 provided complete and usable data. Weekly outcomes showed no consistent trends. In contrast, daily data revealed more nuanced patterns, such as early symptom relief, plateaus, and “double-bottom” effects. The addition of guided imagery did not consistently enhance outcomes beyond VR alone, although the VRAGI condition showed the greatest improvement in well-being. Given the small sample size, these findings should be considered exploratory.

CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggests that daily PRO data might offer richer insight into intervention effects than weekly assessments. Further research with larger samples is needed to confirm these patterns.

PMID:40729629 | DOI:10.2196/73506