A virtual reality environment for supporting mental wellbeing of students on remote clinical placement: A multi-methods evaluation

作者：Pete Bridge, Jignasa Mehta, Pauline Keane, Omar Khaled Shokry Mohamed Elsayed, Stuart Mackay, Sara-Jane Ketterer, Helen West, Nathan Wilson, Michaela Higginson, Julie Hanna · 发表于：Nurse Education Today · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106184 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts、Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout、Nursing education and management

BACKGROUND: Nursing and Allied Health Profession (NAHP) students undertake clinical placements as part of their pre-registration training. The remote nature of some placement sites, shiftwork and the emotionally challenging nature of the workload has led to mental wellbeing issues in many students. AIM: This project aimed to evaluate a novel 3D immersive virtual reality environment that supports mental wellbeing for NAHP students on clinical placement. It comprises a calming 3D tropical beach environment where students and tutors can meet for reflection and mutual support. DESIGN: A multi-methods design gathered quantitative impact data with validated measurement tools and qualitative output related to the lived experience of students. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: All 600 pre-registration NAHP students within the institution undertaking clinical placements were invited to participate, irrespective of mental wellbeing status. Students were randomly assigned to either a VR or Conventional cohort; all participants received the control support mechanism in a subsequent placement. METHODS: All participants completed an initial demographic and Readiness for Therapy survey followed by weekly Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories during placement. All participants were invited to a semi-structured interview. RESULTS: Overall, 32 participants engaged with the application; although the VR cohort demonstrated improved scores on both Beck inventories, these were not statistically signifi...