Background:
Virtual reality (VR)-based simulation in hospital settings facilitates the acquisition of skills without compromising patient safety. Despite regular text-based training, a baseline survey of randomly selected healthcare providers revealed deficiencies in their
knowledge
,
confidence
,
comfort
, and care skills regarding tracheostomy. This prospective pre–post study compared the effectiveness of
regular
text- and VR-based
intervention
modules in training healthcare providers
’
self-efficacy in tracheostomy care skills.
Methods:
Between January 2018 and January 2020, 60 healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists, were enrolled. For the intervention, a newly developed head-mounted display (HMD) and web VR materials were implemented in training and clinical services. Subsequently, in-hospital healthcare providers were trained using either text or head-mounted display virtual reality (HMD-VR) materials in the
regular
and
intervention
modules, respectively. For tracheostomy care skills, preceptors directly audited the performance of trainees and provided feedback.
Results:
At baseline, the degree of trainees
’
agreement with the self-efficacy-related statements, including the aspects of
familiarity, confidence
, and
anxiety
about tracheostomy-related knowledge and care skills, were not different between the control and
intervention
groups. At follow-up stage, compared with the
regular
group, a higher percentage of
intervention
group
’
trainees reported that they are “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that the HMD-VR simulation increases their self-efficacy, including the aspects of
familiarity
and
confidence
, and reduced their
anxiety
about tracheostomy-related knowledge and care skills. After implementation, a higher degree of trainees
’
average satisfaction with VR-based training and VR materials was observed in the
intervention
group than in the
regular
group. Most reported that VR materials enabled accurate messaging and decreased anxiety. The increasing trend of the average written test and hands-on tracheostomy care skills scores among the
intervention
group trainees was significant compared to those in the
regular
group. The benefits of HMD-VR simulations and web-VR material-based clinical services for in-hospital healthcare providers and patient families p...