The Benefits of Using Nature-Based Virtual Reality Interventions for Cancer Patients

“Touching grass” is a phrase often said and is currently trending on social media. Although this may just seem like a figurative line to promote people to spend time outdoors, there are benefits to connecting with nature especially for vulnerable populations, such as cancer patients, who may have limited accessibility.

Spending time in nature has many well-established physical and psychological benefits. For example, exercising in the countryside can improve mood and gardening can improve stress recovery. Additionally, immersing oneself in nature through activities like ‘forest bathing’ has been shown to offer physical and psychological benefits.

However, people with cancer may not be able to access nature due to physical limitations, psychological barriers, treatment demands, and location limitations. Depending on the impact of the cancer, patients may be affected by cancer in individual or multiple body regions. Patients can also be impacted by associated treatment including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Cancer patients can experience physical challenges including pain and fatigue, as well as psychological challenges including depression, anxiety, and spiritual distress. Interventions to support cancer patients’ physical and psychological wellbeing are needed.

Virtual reality nature experiences offer an alternative to connecting with nature and has been found to be beneficial for patients who are house- or hospital-bound. Exposure to elements of nature including listening to sounds of flowing water and birdsong improves stress recovery among hospital patients. Similarly, viewing images of nature during exercise can improve mood and reduce blood pressure levels in clinical populations.

Excitingly, studies incorporating interventions involving exposure to nature elements via virtual reality are emerging. A randomised controlled trial in New Zealand found benefits of nature-based virtual reality experiences for advanced breast cancer patients. In this study, researchers sent virtual reality headsets to patients to use daily in their own homes over two one-week periods. In one week, participants used a virtual reality experience involving real-life nature scenes and in the other week, participants used a virtual reality experience incorporating animated nature scenes. In both nature experiences, participants were able to explore nature scenes including a campsite, waterfall and beach, and they could interact with the scene including listening to a guided meditation, roasting marshmallows over a campfire and stacking stones by a waterfall.

Participants completed surveys that measured their depression, anxiety, pain, spiritual well-being, connectedness to nature and quality of life before and after using both virtual reality nature experiences. Overall, participants in both interventions reported lower levels of depression, anxiety and higher levels of spiritual well-being, connectedness to nature and quality of life. Participants also reported primarily positive feedback for usage of virtual reality.

Although the above-mentioned study was a pilot study, it further strengthened the existing literature on the benefits of virtual reality interventions and the usage of virtual reality nature for cancer patients. This study also provides evidence for the usage of an additional intervention, such as virtual reality, to support cancer patients’ wellbeing during an often-challenging time. It will be exciting to see where these technologies take us into the future of supporting the mental health of cancer patients.

Author
Stanley Chin
Stanley is a trained health psychologist at Q Psychology with a background in support cancer patients and their families.