Can virtual reality help reduce symptoms in dialysis patients?
Dr Emma Murphy, from the Centre for Care Excellence at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Coventry University, has been awarded a £40,000 nurse start-up grant to explore whether using virtual reality (VR) can help reduce symptoms in people receiving dialysis.
Exploring a new way to reduce symptoms without medication
More than 26,000 people in the UK with kidney failure rely on in‑centre haemodialysis. Most people attend hospital three times a week, spending four to five hours connected to a dialysis machine each visit. While dialysis is a life-sustaining treatment, it can come with a heavy physical and emotional burden.
People on dialysis often live with multiple symptoms such as pain, extreme tiredness, itching, anxiety, low mood and breathlessness. Together, these are known as “symptom burden”, which can have a major impact on quality of life. This study will explore whether VR could offer a new, non‑drug way to help reduce these symptoms.
“My research focuses on improving how symptoms are recognised and managed for people on dialysis. Through leading a kidney symptom management clinic, I see how common and challenging these symptoms are and how they affect everyday life. This is what drives my research – finding more holistic ways to support people receiving dialysis, alongside existing treatments.” Dr Emma Murphy.
Meet the researcher
Dr Emma Murphy is an associate clinical professor in the Centre for Care Excellence, a nurse clinical academic in kidney care, and a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) senior research leader. With extensive clinical experience, her research focuses on kidney supportive care, particularly improving symptoms and quality of life for people receiving dialysis.
Emma completed a PhD in palliative medicine at King’s College London, with training in epidemiology alongside senior clinical practice, focusing on outcomes and experiences of people receiving dialysis.
“Opportunities like Kidney Research UK grants are vital in supporting nurses to develop research careers, including through clinical academic routes.”Dr Emma Murphy.
Virtual reality in healthcare
VR is being explored as a non‑drug way to support people during treatment. By wearing a headset, people can experience calming, immersive environments, such as beaches or forests, with accompanying sound.
A small number of studies in dialysis and other settings suggest VR may help people relax and feel distracted, including reducing pain during procedures such as needle insertion. However, most research has focused on short-term use. There is limited evidence on whether VR can be used regularly during dialysis, how acceptable it is to patients and healthcare professionals, and whether it can help address a wider range of symptoms over time.
This study will take place at a UK dialysis centre. Emma and the research team will explore the preferences, concerns and expectations of both patients and healthcare professionals when using VR during dialysis. The focus is on whether VR is practical and acceptable to use, and whether it may help reduce symptom burden and improve the experience of dialysis care over time.
The study will begin with a workshop involving patients and dialysis staff to shape how VR is used. Participants will then take part in short VR sessions lasting around 20 minutes during the first hour of dialysis, over four weeks. Participants will complete symptom questionnaires, developed with people living with kidney disease, and will be invited to share more detailed feedback on their VR experience.
Dr Emma Murphy added: “People with lived experience of kidney disease have shaped this study from the start. A Kidney Research UK patient involvement group worked in partnership with the research team to prioritise which symptoms to measure, the choice of questionnaires, and the importance of capturing people’s experiences.”
What could this mean for kidney patients?
This study will explore whether VR can be used during dialysis in a practical and acceptable way, and whether it has the potential to help reduce symptoms over time. The findings will help inform future studies and improve understanding of non-drug approaches that could support more person-centred care during dialysis.
“People on dialysis often live with symptoms that affect daily life. This study explores whether virtual reality can be used in a way that feels acceptable and helpful during dialysis, and whether it could reduce symptom burden over time as part of more person‑centred care.” Dr Emma Murphy
Working together as a multidisciplinary kidney research team
This study brings together a multidisciplinary research team, including kidney nurses, dietitians, and doctors, virtual reality and digital health specialists, and people with experience of dialysis, to improve symptom care.
The research team includes:
Professor Nithya Krishnan, Consultant Nephrologist, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Coventry University
Professor Helen Hurst, Professor of Nursing, University of Salford and Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Jyoti Baharani, Consultant Nephrologist, University Hospitals Birmingham
Joe Duffy, Virtual Reality Developer, King's College London
Dr Michael Loizou, Associate Professor in Digital Health and Co-Director of the Centre for Health Technology, University of Plymouth
Professor Ala Szczepura, Professor Emerita Health Technology Assessment, Coventry University
The study is also supported by Kidney Research UK research fellow Beverley Beynon-Cobb, kidney service lead dietitian and CKD research fellow at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
The Centre for Care Excellence (CfCE) is a pioneering partnership between University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust and Coventry University. CfCE empowering nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals to deliver high-quality, impactful research that improves person-centred care, strengthens the clinical academic workforce, and accelerates the translation of evidence into practice.
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