{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T22:59:37Z","timestamp":1790204377660,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Pasifika Medical Association Group","issue":"1642","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["NZMJ"],"abstract":"<jats:p>aim: In Aotearoa New Zealand, people with acute rheumatic fever (ARF) receive 4-weekly intramuscular benzathine penicillin G\n(BPG) injections for a minimum of 10 years to prevent recurrence and progression to rheumatic heart disease. Within a phase\nIIA trial of a higher-dose subcutaneous injection of penicillin (SCIP), which provides at least 10 weeks of coverage, we piloted\nimmersive virtual reality (VR) distraction to assess whether it improved injection acceptability through reductions in pain and\nanxiety.\nmethods: Ten participants aged 9\u201320 years used a Meta Quest VR headset during their SCIP procedure. Participants rated anxiety\nbefore and after the injection and reported both their usual injection pain (based on prior SCIP injections) and pain during the current\ninjection using zero to 10 scales. Acceptability and user experience were assessed through structured feedback from participants, caregivers\nand nurses.\nresults: Acceptability of the VR headset was high; all participants reported they would use VR again and recommend it to\nothers. Mean pain scores decreased from 5.1 (usual) to 3.3 (current), and mean anxiety from 3.4 (pre-injection) to 1.1 (postinjection).\nNurses noted procedures were faster and patients visibly calmer, while caregivers strongly agreed that VR reduced\ninjection-related distress.\nconclusions: Immersive VR was feasible and highly acceptable during SCIP and was associated with reduced pain and anxiety, as\nwell as smoother, faster procedures. VR distraction has the potential to improve the experience of injectable treatments, including\nintramuscular penicillin injections, and warrants further exploration.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.26635\/6965.7485","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T22:08:12Z","timestamp":1790201292000},"page":"150-155","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Turning distress into distraction: using virtual reality during penicillin injections for rheumatic fever"],"prefix":"10.26635","volume":"139","author":[{"given":"Julie","family":"Cooper","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jacqui","family":"Ulugia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dhevindri","family":"Moodley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julie","family":"Bennett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"11177","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]},"container-title":["New Zealand Medical Journal"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T22:08:15Z","timestamp":1790201295000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/nzmj.org.nz\/journal\/vol-139-no-1642\/turning-distress-into-distraction-using-virtual-reality-during-penicillin-injections-for-rheumatic-fever"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1642","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.26635\/6965.7485","relation":{},"ISSN":["1175-8716"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1175-8716","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]]}}}