Publication
Impact of a single virtual reality relaxation session on mental-health outcomes in frontline workers on duty during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a preliminary study
| dc.contributor.author | Faria, Sara | |
| dc.contributor.author | Fonseca, Sílvia Monteiro | |
| dc.contributor.author | Marques, António | |
| dc.contributor.author | Queirós, Cristina | |
| dc.contributor.author | Pereira da Silva Marques, António José | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-11-03T14:13:20Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-11-03T14:13:20Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-06-16 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The COVID-19 pandemic affected frontline workers’ mental health, including healthcare workers, firefighters, and police officers, increasing the need for effective interventions. This study focuses on the pandemic’s psychological impact, perceived stress, depression/anxiety symptoms, and resilience, examining if a brief virtual reality (VR)–based relaxation session could reduce psychological symptoms. In this preliminary study with data collected in 2025 from frontline workers who had served during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, 54 frontline workers completed a baseline assessment of the perceived psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic, general perceived well-being, perceived stress (PSS-4), anxiety/depression (PHQ-4) and resilience (RS-25). Each participant then engaged in a 10-min immersive VR relaxation session featuring a calming 360◦ nature environment with audio guidance, after which questionnaires were re-administered. Paired samples t-tests and repeatedmeasures ANOVA evaluated pre-/post-session differences, and a hierarchical multiple linear regression model tested predictors of the change in stress. Pre-session results showed moderate perceived stress and resilience and low depression/anxiety. Occupation groups varied in baseline stress, mostly reporting negative pandemic psychological effects. After VR, significantly perceived well-being increased, and stress decreased, whereas depression/anxiety changes were nonsignificant. Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a main effect of time on stress (p = 0.003) without occupation-by-time interaction (p = 0.246), indicating all occupational groups benefited similarly from the VR session. Hierarchical regression indicated baseline depression and higher perceived pandemic-related harm independently predicted greater stress reduction, whereas resilience and baseline anxiety showed no statistically significant results. A single VR relaxation session lowered perceived stress among frontline workers, particularly those reporting higher baseline depression or pandemic-related burden. Limitations include the absence of a control group. Results support VR-based interventions as feasible, rapidly deployable tools for high-stress settings. Future research should assess longer-term outcomes, compare VR to alternative interventions, and consider multi-session protocols. | por |
| dc.identifier.citation | Faria, S., Fonseca, S. M., Marques, A., & Queirós, C. (2025). Impact of a single virtual reality relaxation session on mental-health outcomes in frontline workers on duty during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a preliminary study. Healthcare, 13(12), 1434. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13121434 | |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.3390/healthcare13121434 | |
| dc.identifier.eissn | 2227-9032 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/30711 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.peerreviewed | yes | |
| dc.publisher | MDPI | |
| dc.relation | 2022.15399.BD | |
| dc.relation.hasversion | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/13/12/1434 | |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject | Frontline workers | |
| dc.subject | Virtual reality | |
| dc.subject | Stress reduction | |
| dc.subject | Anxiety | |
| dc.subject | Depression | |
| dc.subject | Resilience | |
| dc.subject | COVID-19 pandemic | |
| dc.subject | Health workers | |
| dc.subject | Firefighters | |
| dc.subject | Police officers | |
| dc.title | Impact of a single virtual reality relaxation session on mental-health outcomes in frontline workers on duty during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a preliminary study | por |
| dc.type | research article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| oaire.citation.issue | 12 | |
| oaire.citation.title | Healthcare | |
| oaire.citation.volume | 13 | |
| oaire.version | http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85 | |
| person.familyName | Pereira da Silva Marques | |
| person.givenName | António José | |
| person.identifier | U-7458-2017 | |
| person.identifier.ciencia-id | 8811-40B4-D5FC | |
| person.identifier.orcid | 0000-0002-8656-5023 | |
| relation.isAuthorOfPublication | af6a03ee-cd62-426a-980a-b5c92c4b46d5 | |
| relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery | af6a03ee-cd62-426a-980a-b5c92c4b46d5 |