Virtual Reality in Palliative Care

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last two decades, virtual reality has become more portable and accessible in terms of cost and availability. There is growing interest in how this technology could support and improve the lives of people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. People living with terminal illnesses often experience complex and multiple physical and mental symptoms. In the later stages of the disease, they may have things or activities that they still wish to do (a so-called “bucket list”), but which they are no longer physically capable of. In these situations, virtual reality could offer an opportunity to experience activities that would otherwise be beyond their abilities. It could have potential benefits for their overall wellbeing, be that physical, emotional, social or spiritual.

The scope of this Special Issue is to publish research exploring the use of virtual reality for people who are living with terminal illness. This might be research looking at the clinical effectiveness of virtual reality interventions in reducing physical and psychological symptoms, or it might be a study describing and evaluating the implementation of virtual reality in this population. We welcome original research articles reporting results from observational and experimental studies, as well as health economic papers, reviews and meta-analyses.

Dr. Victoria Vickerstaff
Dr. Nicola White
Guest Editors

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• virtual reality
• head-mounted display
• immersive technology
• palliative care
• hospice
• terminal illness
• symptoms
• health economics
• pain control
• usability