The Efficacy of a Mindfulness-Based Virtual Reality Intervention to Reduce Pain in Postoperative Patients

The goal of this randomized clinical trial is to evaluate whether a virtual reality (VR) mindfulness intervention can reduce anxiety and postoperative pain in adults undergoing surgery, primarily hernia and varicose vein procedures.

The main research questions are:

* Does a preoperative VR mindfulness intervention reduce anxiety before surgery? * Does this reduction in anxiety result in lower postoperative pain compared to usual care? * Does the intervention help prevent chronic pain two weeks after surgery? Researchers will compare a VR mindfulness intervention group with a treatment-as-usual (TAU) group to assess the intervention's effectiveness.

Participants will:

* Be randomly assigned to one of two groups:

* Experimental group: Receive a VR mindfulness session on the first day of hospitalization (one day before surgery). * Control group: Receive standard hospital care (no intervention). * Complete psychological and pain assessments at four time points:

1. Before the intervention (Day 1) 2. Immediately after the intervention (only the experimental group, Day 1) 3. After surgery (Day 2) 4. Two weeks after surgery (follow-up) * Report pain intensity using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) at four postoperative time points.

Before enrollment, participants will undergo a structured interview to assess eligibility.

This study aims to determine whether reducing preoperative anxiety through VR mindfulness contributes to improved pain management and a lower risk of developing chronic pain following surgery.