Acceptability of a virtual reality tool for early rehabilitation in intensive care units

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Introduction Virtual Reality (VR) is playing an increasingly important role in the medical field environment, whether for pain management or healthcare professionals’ training. The use of a VR device during a stay in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) could contribute to early rehabilitation’s management. Evaluation of the acceptability of such VR device on patients and healthcare professionals in these departments is the first step before considering integrating it, in order to ascertain the intention to use this device, but also to assess the possible obstacles to its use. Method We performed an acceptability study including patients and healthcare professionals from the ICUs of the University Hospital of Rennes, France. They answered a questionnaire based on the UTAUT 2 model, after a brief presentation of the VR device created to promote mental imagery early in ICU. Main judgment criterion was evaluating the acceptability via intention-to-use of this VR tool. Secondary objectives were to identify items influencing intention to use a VR tool in the healthcare professionals and patient populations. Results Sixty-eight healthcare professionals and fifty patients completed the questionnaire. We found a positive evaluation and a favorable intention to use the device in both populations. The main factors influencing intention to use were “perception of use” and “hedonic motivation” in both populations. Healthcare professionals attached importance to social influence, while patients prioritized “perceived ease of use”. Discussion Our results are in line with the literature on the a priori acceptability and intention to use virtual reality. However, this is the first study of virtual reality for early rehabilitation in ICU.