The effects of nature on physiology and phenomenological experienced stress and anxiety during bronchoscopy : using an HMD

According to earlier research, patients undergoing a bronchoscopy appear to profit from nature. It provides positive distraction from stressful situations and enables directed attention to rest and recover from depletion of sources. Especially nature views that are soft-fascinating (SF) appear to be beneficial. The present research aimed to study the effects of two different nature scenes (high vs. low on SF) delivered through an HMD on phenomenologically and physiologically experiences of the bronchoscopy with a quasi-experimental 2 (between subjects) x 2 (within subjects) design. It was expected that both the nature scenes would lead to a significant improvement of self-reported mood, and a reduction in self-reported arousal and mean amplitude of SCRs. Those effects were believed to be stronger for the condition high-SF compared to the condition low-SF. Quantitative analyses seemed to show a trend in the reduction of the mean amplitude of SCRs, but the reduction was non-significant. The reduction also did not differ between the two conditions. All quantitative analyses of all self-report constructs showed non-significant results on the main effect of nature and the differences between the conditions. It is strongly recommended to include a control group in further research that focuses on physiology.