Preliminary research of empathy education in medical students through virtual scenario experience

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Stress; empathy; Public Health - Health promotion/education

• Registration Number: ACTRN12624000297527
• Lead Sponsor: Chang Gung Memorial Hospital

Brief Summary

Introductions: Empathy is an important factor in the doctor-patient relationship, but mental illness is more difficult to understand than other diseases. Besides traditional skills, virtual reality (VR) has been identified as a promising tool in empathy education. This study aimed to investigate the ability of empathy enhancement, the feasibility of depression education, and the changes in thoughts and attitudes in medical students through a single VR experience. Methods: We recruited medical students and randomly assigned them to two groups based on their completed Interpersonal Response Index (IRI) scores. Two sets of VR systems were provided; the intervention group experienced the daily life of the depressed medical student, while the control group experienced the general medical student scenario. Results: Result showed a significant increase in the perspective-taking (PT) and compassionate care (CC) domains of the JSE score and a significant decrease in the empathy (SP) domain in the intervention group. The Pearson correlation analysis found a significant positive correlation between the JSE score with immersion aspect and presence aspect, and a significant negative correlation between the IAT score and presence aspect.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Completion: 2022-04-15
• Study Start: 2024-03-21
• Last Update Posted: 25 March 2024

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 59

Inclusion Criteria

fifth-year and sixth-year medical students of any gender from Chang Gung University

Exclusion Criteria

medical students who had previously trained in the psychiatry department.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
empathy[Chinese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Health Professional Students (JSE-HPS) pre test: online questionnaire one week before the day of the experiment.<br>post test: the same day after VR experience, 1 hour after video was shown];attitude toward depression[Implicit Association Test (IAT) pre test: the same day after VR experience, 1 hour before video was shown<br>post test: the same day after VR experience, 1 hour after video was shown]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
emotional response towards VR experience[Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) the same day after VR experience, 1 hour after video was shown];sense of embodiment in VR experience[Body ownership and agency (BOA), inclusion of others in the self (IOS), both measures will be assessed as a composite secondary outcome, the outcome will be presented together as the sense of embodiment. the same day after VR experience, 1 hour after video was shown];the sense of immersion in VR[The presence questionnaire 3.0 the same day after VR experience, 1 hour after video was shown];physical discomfort during the VR experience[virtual reality sickness questionnaire (VRSQ) the same day after VR experience, 1 hour after video was shown]