JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The global market for medical education is projected to increase exponentially over the next five years. One mode of delivery expected to drive the growth of this market is virtual reality (VR). VR simulates real-world objects, events, locations, and interactions in three-dimensional (3D) multimedia sensory environments. It has been used successfully in medical education for surgical training, learning anatomy, and advancing drug discovery. New VR research has been used to simulate role-playing and clinical encounters; however, the majority of this research has been conducted with health professional students and not current providers. Thus, more research is needed to explore how healthcare providers’ experience VR with role-playing and clinical encounters.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to explore healthcare providers’ and educators’ experiences with a cinematic VR (cine-VR) training program focused on role-playing and clinical encounters addressing social determinants of health, Appalachian culture, and diabetes. Cine-VR leverages 360-video with the narrative storytelling of cinema to create an engaging educational experience.

Methods:

We conducted in-depth telephone interviews with healthcare providers and educators who participated in the cine-VR training. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A multidisciplinary team coded and analyzed the data using content and thematic analyses with NVivo software.

Results:

We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with healthcare providers and educators (age=43.8±11.8 years; 90.0% female; 95.0% white, 20.0% nurses) to explore their experiences with the cine-VR training. Qualitative analysis revealed five themes: 1) Feeling Immersed in the Virtual World: Seeing a 360-sphere allowed participants to immerse themselves in the virtual world. 2) Accurate Portrayal of Appalachian Culture: All of the participants, including those born and raised in Appalachia, stated that the cine-VR storyline was an accurate depiction of Appalachian culture. 3) Contextualizing Barriers and Beliefs about Diabetes in Appalachian Culture: All of the participants were able to recall the social determinants of health addressed in the cine-VR training as well as the fatalistic attitudes about diabetes. 4) Empathizing with Multiple Perspectives: The cine-VR provided a glimpse into the real life of the main VR character; participants described thinking and feeling the character’s frustrations, disappointments, and being torn between competing responsibilities. Participants felt that the cine-VR helped them empathize with the different characters in the cine-VR. 5) Perceived Value of Cine-VR as a Teaching Tool: Participants described cine-VR as an effective teaching tool because of the realism in the simulations.

Conclusions:

Participants described feeling immersed in the cine-VR environment. They attributed the value of the training to the realistic portrayal of diabetes, social determinants of health, and Appalachian culture. Further, participants expressed empathy for the characters in the VR. More research is needed to confirm the significance of immersion and empathy in cine-VR training for healthcare providers. Clinical Trial: N/A