A child does not process a hospital stay the way an adult does. They cannot rationalise the need for a procedure or put discomfort into perspective. What they feel is more direct: fear of the unknown, anxiety about what is coming. Supporting a child in a hospital setting calls for tools that speak their language, and virtual reality for clinical use speaks it particularly well.
Why VR works so well with children
Virtual reality combines two things children respond to naturally: immersion and play. Instead of asking a child to "stay still and not think about what is about to happen," it offers them somewhere to go with their imagination.
- Immersion is total: the field of view is replaced, removing the clinical stimuli that frighten.
- Engagement is active: looking around, exploring, and reacting keep the child genuinely occupied.
- The language is familiar: the register of play and fantasy is the one the child already lives in.
For a child, not "being treated" but "being somewhere else" completely changes how the moment is experienced.
The mechanism: distraction that reduces fear
As in pain management, attention is a limited resource. When a child is fully engaged in an immersive environment, less attention is left for fear and for the discomfort of the procedure. This distraction does not deceive the child, it simply gives them a better place to focus while the team does its work.
Relevant pediatric contexts
- Short procedures, such as punctures, dressing changes, or minor interventions.
- Waiting periods, often loaded with anticipatory anxiety.
- Moments of discomfort during the stay, where distraction helps to calm.
Important note: virtual reality for clinical use in pediatrics is a complementary approach, used with age-appropriate content and durations and always under the supervision of healthcare professionals. It does not replace parental support, clinical assessment, or the presence of the team.
What the studies say
Virtual reality distraction during paediatric procedures is one of the most studied areas of virtual reality in healthcare. Some examples from our study library:
- Three meta-analyses (Eijlers et al., 2019; Nordgård and Låg, 2021; Tas et al., 2022) bring together dozens of studies in children and young people and report less pain and less anxiety during procedures with virtual reality. Nordgård and Låg observed larger effects with non-interactive virtual reality, such as immersive video.
- Needles and cannulas: two randomised trials in Australian hospitals (Chan et al., 2019) and two trials with young people aged 10 to 21, during blood draws (Gold and Mahrer, 2018) and intravenous catheter placement (Gold et al., 2021).
- Before surgery: a virtual tour of the operating theatre before anaesthesia (Ryu et al., 2017).
These are studies of virtual reality in general, each with its research team's own equipment and content. They are not studies of RVer, and the results are the authors'.
The role of RVer
RVer is a virtual reality system designed for healthcare environments and registered as a Class I Medical Device (base product) in EUDAMED and with INFARMED (Portugal), bearing the CE mark under MDR 2017/745. It is built to be simple for clinical teams to use and comfortable for the patient, including the youngest ones, with no collection of patient clinical data.
In pediatrics, the goal is to make difficult moments a little lighter: to give the child somewhere to go while they receive the care they need.
RVer is used from the age of 10. On the remaining precautions, see is virtual reality bad for you?.
Frequently asked questions
Is virtual reality safe for children in hospital settings?
When used under the supervision of healthcare professionals, with age-appropriate content and durations, virtual reality for clinical use is a non-invasive, non-pharmacological approach. It is always integrated into the clinical plan and used only when appropriate for each child.
In which pediatric situations can it help?
It can help reduce the fear and anxiety associated with short procedures (such as punctures or dressing changes), waiting periods, and moments of discomfort, by capturing the child's attention in an immersive, engaging environment.
Does virtual reality replace the presence of parents or staff?
No. It is a complementary tool. The presence of parents and the clinical team remains essential; virtual reality only adds a form of distraction and comfort during difficult moments.