Virtual reality technology helps reduce stress for employees fighting Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a great impact on the world, especially the health care system. Many studies show that the frontline medical force in the fight against the epidemic is always in a state of stress, anxiety, fatigue, heavy mental impact as well as physical exhaustion during the 2 years of the epidemic. recent illness.

To reduce stress for healthcare workers, especially in medical facilities treating Covid-19 patients, researchers in Ohio state (USA) have discovered a measure of relative cost. cheap and easy to do, that is using virtual reality equipment.

Virtual reality technology brings moments of relaxation to frontline medical workers fighting the Covid-19 epidemic.

Just 3 minutes of short rest to enjoy a quiet, pleasant natural space, simulated through this technology, users can reduce stress significantly.

According to Ohio University's GRID laboratory, one of the units involved in the study, the team recorded a 3-minute video of a view of a nature reserve in southeastern Ohio.

This reserve is very green, full of life and especially very quiet. Filming technology is suitable for virtual reality technology, whereby users can experience as if they are really standing in the middle of a green natural space, can walk around and watch in different directions, according to Immerse yourself in the beauty of nature, listen to the birdsong and the wind blowing.

Although this is only a short-term experience, research results show that this measure is effective.

The researchers tested the method on 102 volunteers who worked in three different medical facilities treating Covid-19 patients and people in other professions, from people directly taking care of Covid-19 patients to administrative staff. The researchers noted that users' stress levels were significantly reduced.

Volunteers were asked to rate their stress levels on a scale of 1-10 before and after using the virtual reality technology. Before watching the short 3-minute video above, their average stress level was around 5.5.

But after experiencing the above technology, this number decreased to 3.3. Particularly for the medical staff group, the group of subjects assessed to have the highest stress level, the level of stress decreased more, from an average of 6.8 to 3.9.

With the above results, the researchers believe that it is possible to use virtual reality technology to bring moments of relaxation for frontline medical workers against the Covid-19 epidemic because of its relatively low cost and high cost. easy to do right in the workplace.

However, researchers are not sure how long the effect of using this technology will last, so further research is needed to determine if the above virtual green natural space helps users reduce stress. in the long term or not.