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Based on earlier work in palliative care, individualized VR interventions like seeing the patient\u2019s home may address a patient\u2019s wish to be at home and thus have a greater effect compared to standard VR content. Yet, some patients and relatives may be concerned about their privacy. Also, patient stakeholders raised concerns about triggering depressed mood or homesickness.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To test the feasibility and safety of individualized vs. standard 360\u00b0video VR interventions in palliative cancer inpatients.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Prospective observational study with patient-reported outcome measurement using validated instruments of well-being (MDBF), symptoms and psychosocial burden (IPOS), cybersickness (SSQ), presence experience (SPES), subjective benefit (2 items), content analysis of interviews, and field notes. Individualized VR content was recorded with action camcorder-technology to protect the patients\u2019 privacy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Seventeen patients participated, median age 65\u00a0years (range 20\u201382), 9 women (53%), 8 single or widowed (47%), 4 childless (23.5%), 4 academics (23.5%), with a median length of stay of 9\u00a0days (1\u201375) in the hematology (10), palliative care (3), or radiotherapy (2) unit of a German university hospital. Eight patients (53.3%) chose their own home environments or family for individualized VR-content. All participants enjoyed the intervention. Compared to standard VR content the individualized VR tended to have a stronger effect on well-being and emotional touch. It was not inferior in terms of psychosocial burden and cybersickness. No subjective and relevant side effects occurred. The patients well tolerated the assessments. However, most patients demanded a lighter headset and a desire for more interactivity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Individualization of VR content shows potential for enhancement of immersion, which improves the VR experience and does not harm in terms of depressed mood or worsening of symptoms. The patients\u2019 and family desire for privacy is feasible with the support of family members who recorded the individualized videos, which is easily manageable today. We suggest a pragmatic randomized clinical trial to compare the effects of individualized vs. standard VR-content.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Trial registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Registered at German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien; DRKS); registration number: DRKS00032172; registration date: 11\/07\/2023.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12904-024-01577-2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,23]],"date-time":"2024-10-23T13:02:50Z","timestamp":1729688570000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["My virtual escape from patient life: a feasibility study on the experiences and benefits of individualized virtual reality for inpatients in palliative cancer care"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2182-9427","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christina","family":"Gerlach","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Haas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anja","family":"Greinacher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jonah","family":"Lantelme","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melanie","family":"Guenther","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julia","family":"Thiesbonenkamp-Maag","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bernd","family":"Alt-Epping","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cornelia","family":"Wrzus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"1577_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Weiss PL, Kizony R, Feintuch U, Katz N. 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S-127\/2023). Participation was voluntary. All participants provided written informed consent to participate, obtained by trained members of the research team. Participants could terminate their participation at any time without giving reasons, without disadvantages, especially for their further care. In the event of withdrawal from the study, data already obtained would be destroyed or the patient would be asked whether s\/he agrees to the analysis of the data.This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and registered with the German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien; DRKS00032172).","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Study participants provided written informed consent for publication of anonymized data for scientific purposes.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"247"}}