Sepsis Training in Virtual Reality - A Study on Enhanced Learning

Abstract

Sepsis is a health condition where the bloodstream is bacterial infected, it affects annually 18 million people around the world. Especially does the illness affect individuals with weaker immune systems. Treating sepsis presents some challenges as it requires rapidly detection and correct treatment. Virtual Reality (VR), which is defined as three-dimensional computer science, presents potential solutions as it can provide efficiency and proficiency. Still, this avenue has not yet attracted much attention and this master’s thesis is among pioneering efforts in the field presenting VR solution to sepsis. More precisely, will VR be used to increase competency in detecting and handling patient with sepsis so that health personnel can be better prepared. The technology will add to existing training opportunities for health care students and professionals with a solution that is cheaper, more fun, and easy to integrate into ongoing activities. Thereby, the targeted market for VR include both educational and health institutions that address patients who can get a blood infection.

The key to succeed with implementation of this new form of educational tool is include health personnel early in the production process of the application. Sudarsana et al. (2019) remarked that the target group “has a vital role in the development of educational technology” (p. 3) as it in the end was the one going to use it. The health personnel’s perception is not only important knowing for the development of this VR solution, but also for future usage of this technology. By taking the perception of these users into consideration, developers will be able to make customized product adequate to the reality, affecting positively the learning outcomes and motivation of its users. Therefore, this study was conducted to address end-user’s thoughts about VR as an educational learning tool on sepsis. We collected perspectives of 44 volunteers from health care services through a quantitative design survey.

To address the target groups thoughts on sepsis training and learning in VR, two questions can be asked: whether they accept it to the certain degree that they will use it, and whether they think it can enhance todays learning with being more efficient and proficient.

This master’s thesis is based on the Technology Acceptance Model, containing several elements that together contribute to address attitude towards educational tool. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are the two main elements affecting participants relation to sepsis learning and training in VR. High results were found on intention to use as 65.90 % of the participants wished for VR to get adopted to supply and maintenance health personnel’s knowledge on sepsis. A corresponding percentage reveled that the health personnel would predict to use VR to refresh knowledge on sepsis given access. Meaning that the target group overall accept the tool as an add to the conventional classroom.

The survey participants experienced the solution for sepsis training suitable as they thought it could give a reflection of being present in a situation with sepsis. Also, they thought they would be more concentrated in a fun and deep learning case in VR than by the conventional classroom learning. The participants predicted to be able to transfer accumulated knowledge from a virtual case to a real-world case. The technological tools given characteristics are expected to enhance todays learning.