P-1097. Educative Effectiveness of Fully Immersive 360° Virtual Reality System on Hand Hygiene Practice: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

TL;DR

A pilot study found that a fully immersive VR system improved hand hygiene practices more effectively than traditional video lectures among medical trainees.

Contribution

This study demonstrates the clinical utility of a fully immersive 360° VR system for improving hand hygiene practices in healthcare education.

Findings

VR training significantly increased hand-rubbing alcohol use compared to baseline.

The video lecture group showed no significant change in alcohol use after the intervention.

VR's immersive and interactive nature may enhance learning and adherence to hygiene protocols.

Abstract

Educational impact of virtual reality (VR) technology for healthcare practitioners has been increasingly acknowledged, including training aids for infection prevention and control (IPC). We developed a VR education system and evaluated its clinical utility for promoting hand hygiene practices.

This is a prospective, two-week, randomized-control study conducted at Okayama University Hospital, Japan, from November 2023 to January 2024. The fully immersive 360° VR system (VIVE Pro Eye), using a head-mounted display and sensing gloves, was applied to develop three healthcare tasks in a virtual patient room. We monitored the baseline usage data of portable hand-rubbing alcohol of all the participants in the first week, and subsequently randomized participants into 1:1 groups (VR training group and video lecture group). The primary outcome was the differences in the consumption amount of the hand-rubbing alcohol before and after the interventions.

A total of 22 participants (18 medical students and 4 residents) were recruited. Before the intervention, alcohol usage was not significantly different between the VR training and video lecture groups (8.2 g vs. 5.3 g). After the intervention, a significant increase in the use of hand-rubbing alcohol was observed in the VR training group (8.2 g vs 16.2 g; p=0.019), whereas there was no significant difference in the video lecture group (5.3 g vs 7.5 g; p=0.83)

Hand hygiene adherence in healthcare settings can be improved through the introduction of VR-based education owing to its immersive learning capabilities, interactive involvement, and affordability in experiencing complicated scenarios.

All Authors: No reported disclosures