Impact of virtual reality training in disaster medicine

Background

Crisis and disastrous events might have various impact in terms of human, material and financial costs [1]. Disaster medicine aims at optimizing resources management which the number of victims is high and resources limited, notably by using triage systems [2]. However, many difficulties persist when it comes to practice triage in real life [3], re-emphasizing the importance to train efficiently the healthcare professionals. In this context, simulation appears to be offer real interests. Within the framework of the INTERREG project "International Knowledge and Information Centre" (IKIC), a virtual reality environment simulating a train accident has been created and funded. We tested the impact of this training on participants’ satisfaction and learning.

Materials and methods

This quantitative study included 17 nurses specialised in emergency medical aid. These students participate in our training course which proceeded through several steps: pre-course e-learning, pre-briefing, briefing, virtual reality scenario and debriefing. Questionnaires were distributed before and after the simulation to assess satisfaction, self-efficacy and key learnings. The focus of the training was on the pre-triage of victims.

Results

Our training increased participants' sense of self-efficacy (p-value = 0.04). We also noticed high levels of satisfaction and confidence in acquired learning and a high sense of presence. The majority (70.59%) of students felt that the environment had a positive impact on their performance. However, knowledge did not change after the training (p-value = 0.44).

Conclusions

In this experience, using a simulation training with a virtual reality environment had a positive impact on participants satisfaction and perceived self-efficacy. The fidelity of the environment was underlined by the participants. In future research, it would be interesting to compare such virtual reality training with conventional training.