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Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Simulating geriatric home safety assessments in a three-dimensional virtual world
Allen D Andrade1, Pedro Cifuentes, Michael J Mintzer
1Laboratory of E-Learning and Multimedia Research (LEMUR), Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Bruce W. Carter Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Miami, Florida 33125, USA. allen.andrade@va.gov
Gerontology & Geriatrics Education
|July 24, 2012
Summary
Virtual worlds provide a feasible and usable platform for training medical trainees in geriatric home safety assessments, improving self-efficacy. Performance varied by gender and correlated with spatial ability and presence.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Geriatric Medicine
- Virtual Reality
Background:
- Virtual worlds offer safe, cost-effective 3D environments for medical training.
- Geriatric home safety assessments are crucial for preventing accidents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate virtual worlds for geriatric home safety assessments.
- To assess feasibility, usability, and acceptability.
- To correlate performance with spatial ability, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and presence.
Main Methods:
- 30 medical trainees participated in a virtual home safety simulation.
- Data collected on usability, self-efficacy, spatial ability, cognitive load, and presence.
- Performance in hazard identification was measured.
Main Results:
- The simulation was easy to use, enhancing trainee self-efficacy.
- Men outperformed women in hazard identification.
- Presence and spatial ability significantly correlated with performance.
Conclusions:
- Virtual worlds are feasible and acceptable for geriatric home safety training.
- Spatial ability and gender are important factors in training effectiveness.
- Educators should consider these factors when implementing virtual reality training.
