UNE study finds VR technology boosts empathy in future health care professionals

Virtual reality (VR) technology may be a promising pedagogical tool in enhancing empathy among future health care providers, a new study from an interprofessional team of University of New England researchers suggests. 

The recent findings, published this month in Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, shed light on the potential of immersive virtual reality experiences to significantly improve bedside manner among physician assistant (PA) students. 

Empathy, recognized as a crucial aspect of patient care, has long been a focal point in medical education. However, finding effective methods to cultivate empathy in health care professionals has remained a challenge. The UNE study sought to address this gap by exploring the impact of VR-assisted learning models on empathy development.

The resulting article, “Teaching Empathy: Comparison Of A Virtual Reality Experience Using Head-Mounted Display Versus Group Streaming,” was written by lead authors Beth Dyer, M.L.I.S., dean of UNE Library Services, and Dana Villmore, Ph.D., PA-C, assistant clinical professor in UNE’s Physician Assistant program, the only PA program in Maine. Marilyn R. Gugliucci, Ph.D., professor and director of Geriatrics Education and Research in the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine, Maine’s only medical school, is a supporting author of the study.

The study focused on comparing the effects of immersive head-mounted display (HMD) VR experiences to streamed VR modalities on empathy levels among PA students. Named the “Alfred Lab,” the VR experience allowed students to inhabit the perspective of a 74-year-old African American man with vision and hearing impairments, providing a unique immersive encounter.

The research involved two cohorts of PA students, with one group experiencing the VR lab using HMD devices and the other group utilizing a streamed VR modality due to COVID-19 safety protocols. These labs were completed as part of UNE’s Interdisciplinary Geriatrics Education Program. Pre- and post-surveys were administered to gauge changes in empathy levels, with both groups showing a remarkable increase after completing the VR lab.

Empathy and understanding were significantly enhanced through both the HMD VR and the streaming VR experiences, the researchers found, while emphasizing that VR cannot replace the best practice of working directly with patients but rather that VR provides a remote alternative education tool.

“During COVID, when utilizing the traditional VR headsets was not possible for PA students in training, these research findings confirmed that the streaming modality was as effective in increasing students’ feelings of empathy and understanding regarding older patients who have vision or hearing impairments,” the researchers wrote.

The breakthrough holds significant implications for medical education, particularly in addressing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are also beneficial as UNE continues to use the VR tool and has now shifted to a new platform for the labs, designed by Embodied Labs Inc., that are interactive via a web browser but do not make use of headsets — an example of UNE’s response to shifting norms in health care education amid a rapidly changing world.