Background Although the proper use of hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE) is paramount for preventing the spread of diseases such as COVID-19, health care personnel have been shown to use incorrect techniques for donning/doffing of PPE and hand hygiene, leading to a large number of infections among health professionals. Education and training are difficult owing to the social distancing restrictions in place, shortages of PPE and testing material, and lack of evidence on optimal training. Virtual reality (VR) simulation can offer a multisensory, 3-D, fully immersive, and safe training opportunity that addresses these obstacles. Objective The aim of this study is to explore the short- and long-term effectiveness of a fully immersive VR simulation versus a traditional learning method regarding a COVID-19–related skill set and media-specific variables influencing training outcomes. Methods This was a prospective, randomized controlled pilot study on medical students (N=29; intervention VR training, n=15, vs control video-based instruction, n=14) to compare the performance of hand disinfection, nasopharyngeal swab taking, and donning/doffing of PPE before and after training and 1 month later as well as variables of media use. Results Both groups performed significantly better after training, with the effect sustained over one month. After training, the VR group performed significantly better in taking a nasopharyngeal swab, scoring a median of 14 out of 17 points (IQR 13-15) versus 12 out of 17 points (IQR 11-14) in the control group, P=.03. With good immersion and tolerability of the VR simulation, satisfaction was significantly higher in the VR group compared to the control group (median score of User Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire 27/30, IQR 23-28, vs 22/30, IQR 20-24, in the control group; P=.01). Conclusions VR simulation was at least as effective as traditional learning methods in training medical students while providing benefits regarding user satisfaction. These results add to the growing body of evidence that VR is a useful tool for acquiring simple and complex clinical skills.

BACKGROUND Although the proper use of hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE) is paramount for preventing the spread of a disease such as COVID-19, healthcare personnel uses incorrect technique for donning/doffing of PPE and hand hygiene, leading to a large number of infections among health professionals. Education and training is difficult with social distancing restrictions in place, shortage of PPE and testing material and lack of evidence on optimal training. Virtual reality (VR) simulation can offer a multisensory, three-dimensional, fully immersive, and safe training opportunity, which addresses these obstacles. OBJECTIVE Explore the short- and long-term effectiveness of a fully immersive VR simulation vs. a traditional learning method regarding a COVID related skillset and media-specific variables influencing training outcomes. METHODS Prospective randomized controlled pilot study on medical students (n=29, intervention VR training, n=15 vs. control video-based instruction, n=14) to compare performance of hand disinfection, nasopharyngeal swab taking, and donning/doffing of PPE before/after training and one month later as well as variables of media use RESULTS Both groups performed significantly better after training with sustaining the effect over one month. After training, the VR group performed significantly better in taking a nasopharyngeal swab, scoring a median of 14/17 (IQR 13-15) vs. 12/17 (IQR 11-14) in the control, P= .027. With good immersion and tolerability of VR simulation, satisfaction was significantly higher in the VR group compared to control (median of User Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire 27/30 (IQR 23-28) vs. 22/30 (IQR 20-24) in the control, P= .011). CONCLUSIONS VR simulation was similarly effective, and partly even more effective than traditional learning methods in training medical students. These results add to the growing body of evidence of VR being a useful tool for acquiring simple and complex clinical skills.