Paper Type

ERF

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) can help nursing students practice empathy, but many learners find VR difficult to use. We employed a design science approach to develop an accessible VR empathy-training simulation. First, we surveyed 87 nursing students at a US public university. Most respondents (88.2%) believed VR could improve empathy, yet over half (52.9%) reported discomfort with VR use. Our respondents reported difficulty in recognizing nonverbal distress cues (68.6%) with aging Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. We derived six design principles and developed a Unity-based scenario featuring an aging patient with AD and cancer. The prototype was refined with iterations based on stakeholder feedback. A post-development evaluation is planned using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and other indicators, including communication confidence, usability, and physiological indicators, to assess learning impact and feasibility for curriculum integration. This study contributes design knowledge for accessible, immersive, technology-enhanced learning in nursing education.

Paper Number

1449

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Aug 15th, 12:00 AM

Designing Accessible, Embodied Virtual Reality for Nursing Empathy Training

Virtual reality (VR) can help nursing students practice empathy, but many learners find VR difficult to use. We employed a design science approach to develop an accessible VR empathy-training simulation. First, we surveyed 87 nursing students at a US public university. Most respondents (88.2%) believed VR could improve empathy, yet over half (52.9%) reported discomfort with VR use. Our respondents reported difficulty in recognizing nonverbal distress cues (68.6%) with aging Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. We derived six design principles and developed a Unity-based scenario featuring an aging patient with AD and cancer. The prototype was refined with iterations based on stakeholder feedback. A post-development evaluation is planned using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and other indicators, including communication confidence, usability, and physiological indicators, to assess learning impact and feasibility for curriculum integration. This study contributes design knowledge for accessible, immersive, technology-enhanced learning in nursing education.