413 - VIRTUAL REALITY MINDFULNESS INTERVENTIONS FOR EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING IN THE WORKPLACE: A SCOPING REVIEW

Session: P_D01S001 - Poster Session 1 - Division 1
AUTHORS:
Sganzerla Chanquini Fernanda (University of Coimbra ~ Coimbra ~ Portugal) , Santos De Carvalho Carla (University of Coimbra ~ Coimbra ~ Portugal) , Pinto Ana (University of Coimbra ~ Coimbra ~ Portugal) , Santos Mendes Mónico Lisete (University of Coimbra ~ Coimbra ~ Portugal) , Martínez-Córcoles Mario (University of Valencia ~ Valencia ~ Spain)
Abstract text:
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) promote employee well-being by reducing stress and improving emotional regulation. Virtual reality (VR) has been proven to enhance workforce wellness interventions through immersive, controlled environments. Yet, the combined use of VR and MBIs in organizational settings remains underexplored, and further research is needed to understand its full potential. Consequently, this scoping review aimed to identify evidence of how virtual reality applied to MBIs could improve employees' well-being within organizational contexts. Given this goal, this research also intended to map key concepts, research procedures, outcomes, gaps in this topic thus far, and the effectiveness of those interventions on promoting employees' well-being. Following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework, relevant studies were identified through structured searches in four databases, PubMed (1), EBSCO (6), Web of Science (10), and Scopus (78), also through published gray literature (2), author contact (1), and independent search (4), resulting in 86 records (without duplicates). Upon full reading, 14 studies remained. Backward and forward citation tracking were also performed, albeit no further documents were selected. Tools such as Mendeley Reference Manager, Rayyan, and AI-assisted searches supported the review process. The final sample, published between 2017 and 2024, covered seven countries. All included studies used head-mounted displays as the VR intervention device, with the majority being experimental research in the healthcare sector of multimodal interventions, hence combining mindfulness components with other well-being related techniques. However, most studies lacked clear theoretical frameworks, standard outcome measures, and provided general outputs. This limited the identification of the specific effects of VR-based MBIs on employee well-being, resulting in heterogeneous findings regarding their effectiveness. Overall, this review consolidated key operational data that contributes to advancing future research.