Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology has been explored in the health sector as a novel tool for supporting treatment side effects, including managing pain and anxiety. VR has recently become more available with the launch of low-cost devices and apps.Objective: This study aimed to provide an updated review of the research into VR use for pain and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing medical procedures.Methods: We performed a scoping review. To identify relevant studies, we searched three electronic databases. Two authors screened the titles and abstracts for relevance and eligibility criteria.Results: Overall, 1386 articles were identified. In total, 18 articles were included in the review. Articles were published in English between 2013 and 2018. Our review determined that VR technology was being administered in a range of situations to modulate acute and chronic pain or anxiety, needle phobia, and procedural care in children and adolescents. We identified 9 articles that designed the bespoke VR apps. The findings were analyzed to develop a holistic model and describe the product, experience, and intervention aspects that need to be considered in designing such medical VR apps.Conclusions: VR has been demonstrated to be effective for managing pain and anxiety in a variety of populations. However, design strategies are limited beyond distraction techniques. We propose future VR interventions to explore skill-building goals in apps characterized by dynamic feedback to the patient and experiential and product qualities that enable them to be active participants in managing their own care. To achieve this, design must be part of the development.

Background: Current research into virtual reality (VR) use during chemotherapy shows that it can be an effective distraction intervention. However, there is limited research in adult patients and to investigate how VR can be sustainably implemented in health care organizations. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and acceptability of using VR for adult patients undergoing chemotherapy, and to identify the factors that would enable the sustained use of VR during chemotherapy in health care organizations. Methods: Patients undergoing chemotherapy were recruited to participate in a VR intervention during chemotherapy infusion. Participants were observed during the session and completed a postintervention survey. Each participant was invited to participate in a semistructured interview about their experience. Results: A total of 18 patients participated in the study, 5 of whom participated in semistructured interviews. Findings indicated that the use of VR was acceptable for patients undergoing chemotherapy and the intervention was also feasible. Some participants felt that the VR was an effective distraction during chemotherapy infusion, although most still seemed to be aware of how long their treatment was taking. Although VR was acceptable and feasible to patients, interviews identified several barriers to sustained implementation, including access to a reliable app library and impact on staff workloads. Conclusions: VR was acceptable to patients with a diagnosis of cancer undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Patients found VR beneficial for breaking up the monotony of treatment, to provide an additional choice of activity in addition to other recreation, and in some instances as a distraction from the treatment itself. However, there are challenges to address if VR is to be implemented in practice for this patient group.

Young adults are among the lowest consumers of calcium-rich foods. As young adults move out of home and commence university, meal skipping, food budgets and poor cooking skills may contribute to low intakes. This research aimed to develop and evaluate cooking videos to educate young adults about calcium-containing foods and provide demonstrations for culinary skills training. Fifteen short videos were designed that required minimal cooking skills, ingredients of low cost, and covered main meals and snacks. Thirty-four young adults (nine males) participated in four focus groups to assess usability and desirability of content and explore barriers to cooking. Individually completed questionnaires assessed knowledge and motivation gained post-video screening. Qualitative data were analysed with both a deductive and inductive thematic approach, and questionnaires using descriptive statistics. Video content was well accepted, most participants reported knowledge was gained and their motivation to prepare food at home and consume calcium-rich foods increased. Cooking videos appear to be a well-accepted alternative to formal classes to demonstrate calcium-rich meals that can be quickly prepared. In the future, the videos should be tested in a trial of effectiveness as social media presents a dissemination opportunity for these videos among university and college students.

Background: Calcium is an important nutrient for the attainment of peak bone mass during adolescence and young adulthood. However, these life phases are characterized as hard to reach for health promotion. Social media platforms offer a promising channel as they are relatively low cost but used ubiquitously by youth. Objective: The aim of the CAlcium Nutrition-Dietary Opportunities (CAN-DO) study was to conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of Facebook alone or with text messaging as channels to deliver a theory-based program to encourage optimal calcium intake. Methods: The intervention was a 3-arm parallel trial. Young adults aged 18 to 25 years were recruited through university and social media for a 6-week trial. Participants were randomized to 1 of the 3 arms (ie, Facebook posts, Facebook posts plus text messages, and control group that received an electronic leaflet containing information on calcium intake). The primary outcome was change in intake of milk and other calcium-rich foods, and secondary outcomes were knowledge, self-efficacy, motivation, and habit formation concerning calcium-rich foods. Changes were assessed before and after the intervention, and the differences in change between groups were compared using multivariate regression models with multiple imputations for missing data. Results: A total of 211 participants (64/211, 30.3% males) participated (mean age 21.4 years, SD 2.1) in this study. At the end of the program, no increase in milk intake (odds ratio [OR] 1.51, 95% CI 0.61-3.75 Facebook; OR 1.77, 95% CI 0.74-4.24 Facebook plus text messages; P=.41) nor calcium-rich food was detected (P=.57). There was a significant improvement in knowledge in the Facebook plus text messages group (P<.001), but habit formation improved less than that in the other 2 groups (P=.01). Our results showed a moderate level of engagement with intervention content and positive qualitative feedback from participants. Conclusions: The CAN-DO study delivered via Facebook (with the additional support of text messages) was found to improve knowledge and was acceptable among young adults. However, further research is needed to better understand social media engagement and how to optimize the program for participants to be sufficiently motivated to increase their intake of calcium-rich foods. Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12620000097943; http://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12620000097943.aspx