How to Cite: Ayed, M. M. A., Mahmoud, N. F., & Amin, F. M. (2021). Effect of virtual reality application on preoperative anxiety level among children undergoing surgery. International Journal of Health Sciences, 5(S1), 597–610. https://doi.org/10.53730/ijhs.v5nS1.13913 International Journal of Health Sciences ISSN 2550-6978 E-ISSN 2550-696X © 2021. Manuscript submitted: 27 March 2021, Manuscript revised: 09 May 2021, Accepted for publication: 18 June 2021 597 Effect of virtual reality application on preoperative anxiety level among children undergoing surgery Manal Mohamed Ahmed Ayed Assistant Professor of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Sohag University, Egypt Corresponding author email: Manal_ayed@yahoo.com ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0922-5823 Naglaa Fathi Mahmoud Assistant professor, Pediatric Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing Cairo University, Egypt Email: naglaa.pedia@gmail.com Fatma Mohamed Amin Assistant Professor of Pediatric Nursing, Pediatric Nursing Department Faculty of Nursing Mansoura University, Egypt Email: fatmamohamed@mans.edu.eg ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3356-2443 Abstract---Background: Children who undergo surgical operations may experience preoperative anxiety and they needed to both physical and psychological preparation. The aim: the study aimed to determine the effect of virtual reality application on preoperative anxiety levels among children undergoing surgery. Subject and Methods: Design: A quasi-experimental research design was utilized to achieve the study's aim. Setting: The study was applied in the General Pediatric Surgical Unit at Sohag University Hospital. Sample: A purposive sample of 100 children aged from 4-8 years was included, randomly assigned equally into a study and control group (The study group involved 50 children, who used virtual reality technology and 50 children in the control group using routine care only. Two tools were used to collect data: (I) Interview Structured Questionnaire developed by the researchers and (II) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Results: The study result showed that preoperative anxiety scores were lower among children after the virtual reality application than among children in the control group. There were highly statistically significant differences detected between the total mean score of anxiety scores in the pretest and posttest before surgery (P=0.000). Conclusion: The study concluded that virtual reality application had a