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Virtual reality technology as a tool for stress inoculation for NICU caregivers
Thesis   Open access

Virtual reality technology as a tool for stress inoculation for NICU caregivers

Peggy Burke
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Jun 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001767
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Abstract

Neonatal intensive care NICU Postpartum depression Post-traumatic stress disorder Neonatology
It has been found that 1-7% of birthing parents who have a full-term birth experience postpartum traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while those giving birth to a high-risk infant have a higher prevalence of PTSD, ranging from 24 to 44% (Kim, et.al., 2015). The prevalence of postpartum anxiety is also high for birth givers (13-40%) (Field, 2017). The incidence of both postpartum PTSD and postpartum anxiety is even higher for parents with infants hospitalized in the NICU (Gonzales-Hernandez, et.al., 2019). With the number of infants in the NICU increasing, from 3.2 to 4.5 patients per 1000 live births between 2006 and 2010 (Kim, et.al., 2015), and the associated prevalence of postpartum PTSD and anxiety in NICU caregivers, there is clearly a critical need to address parent mental health in the NICU setting to reduce its prevalence. Virtual reality (VR) has become increasingly more recognized in psychotherapy and psychological research with its ability to control the environment and create more stimulus and responsive protocols (Wilson & Soranzo, 2015). VR integrates real-time computer graphics, body tracking devices, visual displays, and sensory outputs, putting a participant in computer-generated environments that can move in time with a person's head and body motion, giving more possibility for exposure therapy and mindfulness coaching (Rothbaum, 1999). VR with supportive coaching has been shown to work effectively with veterans to decrease PTSD and PTSD symptoms (Rothbaum, 1999). By using VR scenarios with trained therapists, we believe that we will be able to help caregivers of infants in the NICU. Ultimately, we want to decrease the prevalence of anxiety and PTSD symptoms in NICU caregivers by teaching coping strategies and stress-reduction exercises. The purpose of this project is to design and prepare materials to provide stress-inoculation training for NICU parents using VR technology. Specifically, formative research was conducted, a study protocol was created, and materials and manuals were created to train coaches for the VR-Stress Inoculation Training (VR-SIT) sessions and to train research assistants in the delivery of the protocol. This document reports on formative data from focus groups, the development of the study procedures and materials, as well as the challenges faced in creating the program. This project has the potential to support NICU parents by providing critical coping skills to confront the stressors in the NICU environment during their infant's hospitalization.

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