Creating Patient Context: Empathy and Attitudes Toward Diabetes Following Virtual Immersion.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Virtual Reality in Healthcare
• Patient Empathy Studies

Background:

• Pandemic disruptions challenged traditional clinical rotations for Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students.
• Understanding social determinants of health (SDH) was a key difficulty.
• Virtual reality cinema (cine-VR) education series implemented to overcome rotation limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the effect of simulated immersion using cine-VR.
• To assess changes in student empathy.
• To evaluate student attitudes toward diabetes.

Main Methods:

• 59 DPT students participated in 12 cine-VR modules.
• Pre- and post-module surveys measured Diabetes Attitude Scale-Version 3 (DAS-3) and Jefferson Empathy Scale (JES).
• Presence Questionnaire (PQ) assessed virtual experience immersion.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements observed in DAS-3 subscales: patient autonomy, psychosocial impact of diabetes, and seriousness of type 2 diabetes.
• Jefferson Empathy Scale (JES) scores increased and remained high.
• High PQ scores confirmed student immersion and engagement in the virtual experience.

Conclusions:

• Cine-VR modules foster a shared educational experience, enhancing diabetes attitudes and empathy.
• This flexible virtual reality approach allows engagement with patient life aspects previously inaccessible.
• Simulated immersion effectively supports DPT students' understanding of SDH and patient care.