Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Feb 19, 2025; 15(2): 101287
Published online Feb 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i2.101287
Evaluating the impact of virtual reality on reducing restrictive practices in psychiatric wards
Akpoveta Eguono Deborah, Uchenna Esther Okpete, Haewon Byeon
Akpoveta Eguono Deborah, Department of Medical Centre, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo 1111, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Uchenna Esther Okpete, Haewon Byeon, Department of Digital Anti-aging Healthcare (BK21), Inje University, Gimhae 50834, South Korea
Co-first authors: Akpoveta Eguono Deborah and Uchenna Esther Okpete.
Author contributions: Akpoveta ED and Okpete UE involved in data interpretation and developed methodology; Byeon H designed the study; Akpoveta ED, Okpete UE and Byeon H contributed to this paper, assisted with writing the article; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Supported by Basic Science Research Program Through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Funded by the Ministry of Education, No. NRF-RS-2023-00237287 and No. NRF-2021S1A5A8062526; and Local Government-University Cooperation-Based Regional Innovation Projects, No. 2021RIS-003.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No benefits in any form have been received or will be received from a commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Haewon Byeon, DSc, PhD, Associate Professor, Director, Department of Digital Anti-aging Healthcare (BK21), Inje University, 197 Injero, Gimhae 50834, South Korea. bhwpuma@naver.com
Received: September 10, 2024
Revised: December 9, 2024
Accepted: December 23, 2024
Published online: February 19, 2025
Processing time: 126 Days and 7.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This manuscript highlights the potential of virtual reality (VR) as an innovative training tool for reducing restrictive practices (RPs) in psychiatric wards. Although VR training showed promise in lowering perceived discrimination and enhancing staff engagement, it had limited effects on self-efficacy and anxiety levels. The high usability of VR suggests its suitability for immersive learning, though challenges such as fluctuating RPs rates and cost may limit its widespread adoption. Further research is needed to refine VR simulations and explore long-term outcomes, positioning VR as a valuable tool in mental health care training.