Background & Aims

A major obstacle in managing pain is the lack of knowledge and empathy of health professionals. A previous study found that medical students in the pre-clinical phase struggled to imagine pain patients and understand medication. Moreover, due to the overcrowded curricula, students tend to apply surface learning approaches and learn only to pass exams. Pain education is often not considered as a priority.
Virtual Reality (VR) in education offers a higher degree of realism, thus enhancing curiosity and learning. Although VR has been used in different areas of medical education, such as surgical simulation or life support, its use in pain education remains rare.
We developed PainEd VR verse 1.0, an interactive VR application describing a clinical case in a pain emergency and used it as a triggering scenario in PBL. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the VR application in improving students’ knowledge and attitude regarding pain and students’ deep learning approaches.

Methods

This study was an RCT involving 4th-year pre-clinical medical students in Indonesia. We invited all students in the Emergency Module 2023 to join the study. Pain management was a topic in this module, introduced in lectures and PBL. In the PBL, students were randomized into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group obtained a VR-based pain scenario using PainEd VR verse 1.0, while students in the control group used a paper-based one as a trigger in the PBL. Other learning activities related to pain topics were similar for both groups.
We measured two variables. Students’ knowledge and attitude of pain were measured using the Knowledge and Attitude Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) questionnaire, while students’ learning approaches were measured using the Revised Study Process Questionnaire – Two Factors (R-SPQ-2F). The measurements were conducted before and after the module, then at the end of the semester as a follow-up. All data were analyzed with SPSS verse 26.

Results

This study involved 38 students randomized into two groups: 19 received a VR-based scenario, and 19 received a paper-based scenario. Before the intervention, there was no difference between the groups’ KASRP and R-SPQ-2F scores, showing that both groups were comparable. The pre-test demonstrated no difference in the KASRP scores between the VR group (Mean=44.03, SD=7.02) and the paper group (Mean=44.80, SD=5.82), with p=0.953. The post-test indicated a statistically significant improvement in the VR group (Mean=48.39, SD=6.31) compared to the paper group (Mean=44.42, SD=5.67), with p=0.048. In the follow-up assessments, the VR group showed a higher score (Mean=45.18, SD=5.10) than the paper group (Mean=43.65, SD=6.85), but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.437). The R-SPQ-2F scores in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up measurement showed no statistically significant differences between both groups in the surface and deep learning domains.

Conclusions

This study suggested that the PainEd VR verse 1.0 is more effective than the paper-based scenario in enhancing students’ knowledge and attitudes towards pain in the short term. However, there was no difference in the follow-up assessment. This study indicated that the introduction of VR did not significantly alter students’ approaches to learning compared to a traditional paper-based scenario. The VR and paper groups maintained similar learning approaches over time, as reflected in their R-SPQ-2F scores throughout the study.

References

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Presenting Author

Astrid Pratidina Susilo

Poster Authors

Astrid Pratidina Susilo

MD, PhD

Faculty of Medicine Universitas Surabaya

Lead Author

Ardyan Wardhana

MD

Universitas Surabaya, Indonesia

Lead Author

Marcellinus Ferdinand Suciadi

ST

Universitas Surabaya, Indonesia

Lead Author

Remy Giovanny Mangowal

S.Kom

Universitas Surabaya, Indonesia

Lead Author

Aking Sandi Pribadi

MHPE

Universitas Surabaya, Indonesia

Lead Author

Nynke de Jong

Ph.D

Maastricht University, the Netherlands

Lead Author

Topics

  • Education