Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Virtual Reality in the Nursing Curriculum

NCT ID: NCT06353763

Last Updated: 2024-04-09

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 127 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-02-24
• Study Completion Date: 2022-06-30

Brief Summary

The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of an immersive virtual reality learning programme for nursing students, based on virtual glasses, in acquiring the competence (knowledge, skills and attitudes) to care for patients with pressure ulcers, and to compare it with the traditional teaching method.

The design was an exploratory randomised controlled trial. The variables used to measure effectiveness were competence and its attributes: knowledge assessment by a multiple-choice test (Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Assessment Tool, Pukat 2.0 instrument), skill performance by direct observation of procedural skills (simulated cases with standardised patients) and satisfaction and usability assessment (Usefulness, Satisfaction and Ease of Use Questionnaire).

Detailed Description

The study was a prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled trial conducted from March to May 2022 at a Nursing Faculty. The participants were second-year Nursing Bachelor Degree students from a University in the North of Spain. A convenience sample of students in the second year of the nursing program participated in the study. According to the sample size calculation for a two-tailed independent t-test, conducted using the G*Power 3.1.9 program, with a type I error rate of 0.05, power of 0.80, and an effect size of 0.71, the estimated minimum required sample size was 33. The recommended sample size was 40 participants per group, accounting for a 10% allowance for withdrawals, missing data, and lost follow-up. After registering to enrol in the study, 127 students were screened by the researchers for eligibility. Of these, 99 volunteers met the inclusion criteria and were contacted to schedule the pre-test phase. Following the pre-test assessment, participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (50 students) or the control group (49 students) at a 1:1 allocation ratio using a computer-generated assignment. During the study, three participants in the intervention group and two in the control group were excluded due to missing follow-up (refusal to continue in the research), and one student in the control group was removed by statistical analysis. In total, 93 participants were included in the data analysis.

Data was collected from February to May, a period during which the students did not have exams. The demographic information form included fields for age, gender, specific learning related to pressure ulcer care at degree level, and previous experience with virtual reality devices and environments.

Conditions

Pressure Ulcer

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Intervention. Virtual reality

Immersive virtual reality learning program based on virtual reality glasses

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Immersive virtual reality learning program

Intervention Type: OTHER

The immersive virtual reality learning programme was developed by the research team and two nurse experts in chronic wounds, who designed the learning content and script and created six pressure ulcer (PU) cases. Based on the standards of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) and the National Group for the Study and Advice on Pressure Ulcers and Chronic Wounds (GNEAUPP), prevention of healthy skin (case one), management of grade I, II, III and IV PUs (cases two to five) and an infected PU (debridement intervention) were developed. For each case, there was a formative version with immediate feedback and an evaluative one. Before starting the training, the students learned how to use the virtual reality glasses, buttons and joystick by playing a game that trained different dexterity movements. The computer assembly IVR application was developed using Unity 3D and the virtual objects were designed in 3Ds Max.

Control group: Traditional teaching

Self learning theoretical lesson and traditional teaching with a task trainer, supervised by a teacher.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Immersive virtual reality learning program

The immersive virtual reality learning programme was developed by the research team and two nurse experts in chronic wounds, who designed the learning content and script and created six pressure ulcer (PU) cases. Based on the standards of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP), the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) and the National Group for the Study and Advice on Pressure Ulcers and Chronic Wounds (GNEAUPP), prevention of healthy skin (case one), management of grade I, II, III and IV PUs (cases two to five) and an infected PU (debridement intervention) were developed. For each case, there was a formative version with immediate feedback and an evaluative one. Before starting the training, the students learned how to use the virtual reality glasses, buttons and joystick by playing a game that trained different dexterity movements. The computer assembly IVR application was developed using Unity 3D and the virtual objects were designed in 3Ds Max.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Students enrolled in the 2rd year of nursing at the Faculty of Nursing of the University of Navarra and who voluntarily agree to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

• Students who had acquired the skill of caring pressure ulcers in advance.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Universidad de Navarra

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Virginia Las Rosas-Salas

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Navarra

Locations

University of Navarra

Pamplona, Navarre, Spain

Countries

Spain

Other Identifiers

CV

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id