Background and Objective: Magnetic resonance imaging is one of the most important diagnostic imaging methods used to evaluate a wide range of diseases. One of its characteristics is the anxiety that people experience before and during this procedure, which has a negative effect on the quality of the images. This study aimed to determine the effect of virtual reality-based exposure therapy on anxiety and physiological indicators of patients undergoing MRI.

Materials and Methods: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pre-test-post-test design with the participation of 80 outpatients referring to the MRI department of Zahedan hospitals in 1404. The sampling was selected conveniently and randomly assigned to two intervention and control groups. Patients in the intervention group received two virtual exposure therapy sessions on the previous days and the third session on the scheduled day 30 minutes before the MRI. The control group did not receive any intervention during this period. Data were collected in the form of the Spielberger Anxiety Questionnaire and a pre- and post-intervention data recording form. Data were analyzed using chi-square, Fisher's exact test, paired t-test, independent t-test, analysis of covariance, and analysis of variance with repeated measures in SPSS version 26. The significance level in this study was considered to be less than 0.05.

Results: The results showed that the mean and standard deviation of anxiety scores of patients undergoing MRI in the control group were 45.05±7.14, 46.77±7.96, and 46.55±9.91, respectively, and in the intervention group were 45.50±7.37, 40.67±8.87, and 40.12±11.34. The test results showed that the mean and standard deviation of anxiety scores of patients three days before MRI in the two intervention and control groups were not significantly different  (P = 0.88), but just before and after MRI, the mean anxiety score of patients in the intervention group was significantly lower than that of the control group  (P<0.05). Also, the results of covariance analysis showed that the mean of physiological indices in the two groups before and after MRI were not significantly different  (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The results showed that although virtual reality-based exposure therapy had no effect on physiological indicators, it had a positive and significant effect on reducing anxiety in patients undergoing MRI. Therefore, nurses and radiology personnel in the imaging department can use this easy, low-cost, and complication-free intervention to reduce patient anxiety.

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