Enhancing Healthcare Students' Attitudes Toward Dementia Care Through Virtual Reality Education

Education Program for Enhancing Attitude Toward People Living With Dementia Among Healthcare Students Using Virtual Reality: Pilot Study

This quasi-experimental study focuses on Indonesian nursing students and aims to examine the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) dementia educational programs. The study addresses the following research questions:

1. What is the current state of knowledge and awareness about dementia among participants before engaging in a VR dementia education program?
2. What is the effect of a VR dementia education program on improving participants' attitude, knowledge, and intention to help toward people living with dementia, and how are participants satisfied with the VR dementia education program? Participants will voluntarily join a 120-minute class education program, with each participant attending only once. The program, integrated into the faculty's dementia-related courses, will be structured around a series of components, including introduction, pre-program questionnaire, lecture, bad drama (unfriendly communication), bad version of VR, discussion, Lecture (about dementia), good VR, good drama, Lecture, N-impro, post-program questionnaire, and conclusion.

The VR education program will be included in dementia-related courses in the faculty of nursing.

This quasi-experimental study aims to evaluate a virtual reality (VR) dementia education program among nursing students in Indonesia. The participants will be nursing students who are enrolled in specific semesters and courses designated for the implementation of this educational program. At Universitas Airlangga, the study will be conducted with students in the fifth semester (third year). All prospective participants will be assigned new ID numbers to ensure the confidentiality of their student ID numbers. This protocol has been reviewed and approved by the Faculty of Nursing's Ethics Committee at Universitas Airlangga.

The VR dementia education program will be integrated into the Psychiatric Nursing class, which covers themes related to dementia care. Participants will be recruited during the Psychiatric Nursing course through class announcements. An overview of the research process will be provided, and detailed instructions regarding the study will be given shortly before it begins. The research team will announce the study approximately one week in advance, and recruitment will occur via Google Forms. Selected participants will receive their new ID numbers and details about the program's schedule and location through a class announcement three days before the intervention.

On the day of the intervention, participants will attend the designated location and sign an attendance sheet using their new IDs. The Principal Investigator (PI) will explain the study's stages and emphasize that participants can withdraw at any time without any consequences. Participation in the study will be entirely voluntary, and there will be no coercion. Students who opt out of the study will still receive standard dementia-related material through the university's e-learning platform. Still, they will not participate in the game-based education program. Students who agree to participate in the study will provide informed consent. Those in the program will complete a questionnaire before and after the intervention.

Regarding recruitment, eligible participants will be identified through the university's e-learning portal. Students registered in the selected courses for the 2024/2025 academic year will be noted at the beginning of the semester. All eligible students will receive comprehensive information about the study and an invitation to participate.

The research team will explain the program in person and provide written explanations at the start of the Psychiatric Nursing course. The 2024/2025 Psychiatric Nursing course consists of four classes, each with 50-60 students. One class will be randomly selected to participate in this pilot study as the intervention group. The remaining three classes will serve as the control group, receiving standard course material through the e-learning platform. Both the intervention and control groups will complete pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Data will be collected again from both groups at the end of the Psychiatric Nursing course (expected in January 2025) to measure the long-term effects.

The intervention group will receive the VR dementia education program, while the control group will attend a standard lecture. Both interventions will be conducted once. The control group will receive a single lecture via the e-learning platform. Students who provide informed consent will be asked to complete the baseline survey (T1). In the intervention group, students will attend a classroom lecture and discussion on dementia (1st class) and then complete a post-lecture survey (T2). Later, they will be asked to complete another post-lecture survey (T3) at the end of the semester. The control group will follow the same timeline for completing the surveys (T1-T3).

Inclusion Criteria:

- Nursing students enrolled in the designated semester and courses that align with the program's implementation at Universitas Airlangga.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Students who are not enrolled in the specified semester and courses or those who have prior experience with similar VR dementia education programs could influence the results.