Pilot Trial: Impact of a Virtual Reality Stress Reduction Program on Healthcare and Information Technology Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kwon, Daeho; Im, Wooyoung; Kim, Yunsoo; Yoo, Jaesung; Jeon, Huisu; Choi, Heeyong; Kim, Hyeyun

doi:2025.22.4.451

Psychiatry Investig > Volume 22(4); 2025 > Article

Original Article

Psychiatry Investigation 2025;22(4):451-461.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2025.0059 Published online March 28, 2025.

Pilot Trial: Impact of a Virtual Reality Stress Reduction Program on Healthcare and Information Technology Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Daeho Kwon¹

, Wooyoung Im²

, Yunsoo Kim³

, Jaesung Yoo^4,5

, Huisu Jeon⁴

, Heeyong Choi⁶

, Hyeyun Kim⁵

¹Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Gangneung, Republic of Korea
²Department of Psychiatry, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
³Department of Nursing, Catholic Kwandong University, Gangneung, Republic of Korea
⁴AI Sleep Research & Development Center, S-omni, Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea
⁵Department of Neurology, Sleep Medicine Research Center, International St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
⁶Department of Medicine, Catholic Kwandong University, Gangneung, Republic of Korea

Correspondence: Hyeyun Kim ,Tel: +82-32-290-3889, Fax: +82-32-290-3889, Email: imkhy77@gmail.com

Received: February 10, 2025 Revised: March 13, 2025 Accepted: March 14, 2025 Published online: March 28, 2025
*Daeho Kwon and Wooyoung Im contributed equally to this study as co-first authors.

Abstract

Objective
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR) based stress reduction program tailored for healthcare and information technology (IT) professionals during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic.
Methods
The 2-week program, based on forest healing principles, was designed to alleviate occupational stress and improve sleep quality. Participants (n=54; 46 healthcare, 8 IT professionals) underwent pre- and post-intervention assessments using validated psychological scales and physiological measurements.
Results
Results showed significant reductions in stress (Perceived Stress Scale [PSS], p=0.001) and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS] anxiety, p=0.002) across all participants. Healthcare professionals demonstrated significant decreases in depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, p=0.015), anxiety (HADS anxiety, p<0.001), and stress (PSS, p=0.001). Unexpectedly, weekday sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) worsened in the healthcare group (p=0.013). The IT group showed no significant changes, possibly due to the small sample size. Physiological measurements revealed significant differences between groups post-intervention, including melatonin levels (p=0.001) and electrocardiogram values (p=0.031), suggesting occupation-specific responses to VR interventions.
Conclusion
Despite limitations such as unequal sample sizes, this study provides valuable insights into the potential of VR-based stress management programs. The findings underscore the need for occupation-specific approaches and further research with larger, balanced samples to validate these results and explore long-term effects.

Key words Virtual reality intervention; Occupational stress management; COVID-19 pandemic; Healthcare and IT professionals; Sleep quality