Appraising immersive technology in healthcare education: Immersive Technology Evaluation Measure (ITEM) Development

: (Alternative Format Thesis)

Abstract

The aim of the thesis was to provide a comprehensive summary of the research conducted at a regional hospital evaluating immersive technology and its application in educating healthcare professionals (HCP).An initial scoping review emphasised that there is diversity in methodology of research in the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) HCP, and studies can lack valid instruments of measurements or a theoretical basis. The trend of increasing research into technology and educational applications in recent years implies greater adoption for teaching.

Pilot studies were designed to test 2 forms of immersive technology, which reflected current teaching practices at GWH and introducing new ways of educating following COVID pandemic. The first study explored VR 360 using head mounted displays demonstrating a clinical consultation by a doctor and was found to be equally rated to traditional video in post-testing of knowledge gained and using an experiential framework in interviewing participants revealed attributes of motivation and immersion to learning. A follow up, single group study, AR participants expressed enjoyment and high levels perceived learning, however, moderate self-reported immersion was experienced. The initial experiments evidenced a degree of validity to using 2 measures of immersion and intrinsic motivation. A modified-Delphi was undertaken to expand on the 2 measures and identified key factors in relation to learning in simulation and integrating immersive technology with fair level to high levels of agreement amongst experts. This was translated into a 5-domain psychometric survey, Immersive Technology Evaluation Measure (ITEM), with theoretical foundations presented as the Model for Immersive Technology in Healthcare Education (MITHE) that included cognitive and experiential elements. Comprising on factors relating to: user immersion, intrinsic motivation, cognitive load; system usability; and simulation Debrief. Cognitive interviewing demonstrated a high level of comprehension to the ITEM questionnaire and interviewees reported it conveyed a construct that matched their experience of learning from immersive technology.

This work has revealed that this technology has significant potential in training the expanding HCP workforce and that there are significant challenges research findings given variability in quality of evidence. Further validity and reliability studies to ITEM is recommended to improve on understanding of this and MITHE schema. Future work should focus on designing and charting a course of high-quality simulation research comparing technology media and mediums with both subjective and objective measures.

Date of Award	27 Mar 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Department for Health
Supervisor	Dario Cazzola (Supervisor) & Richard Joiner (Supervisor)