Heuristic Evaluation for Virtual Reality for Paediatric Cancer Patient: Perceptions of Healthcare Professionals

There has been an increased interest in Virtual Reality (VR) as a medium of distraction for paediatric cancer patients. Paediatric cancer patients that undergo chemotherapy treatments often face episodes of anxiety, depression and isolation due to the lengthy procedure. The use of video games as a medium of distraction has shown positive results as a tool to provide emotional support for paediatric cancer patients during chemotherapy. However, few studies have qualitatively explored the experience of healthcare professionals on VR usability before testing with real patients. This paper reports an experimental evaluation of healthcare professionals' perspective on the use of VR technology for paediatric cancer patients among healthcare professionals. The objectives are to explore the potential impact of VR as a distraction in paediatric cancer treatment procedure and to identify user requirements for VR technology in the related hospital setting. This paper presents the results of focus-group interviews on this topic with healthcare professionals working in paediatric oncology unit. Interview data was analysed using thematic analysis and a heuristic evaluation technique to identify relevant usability design considerations.