Design and Development of Virtual Reality Application Implementing Age-Friendly Care and the 4Ms: A Quality...

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Medical Education Technology
• Virtual Reality Applications

Background:

• The increasing aging population necessitates enhanced geriatric education for healthcare students.
• The Age-Friendly Health System (AFHS) framework provides evidence-based, low-risk care focused on older adults' priorities.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers immersive, engaging learning experiences for complex medical concepts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, develop, implement, and evaluate a VR training module for medical students.
• To educate students on the AFHS 4Ms (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, Mobility) in geriatric care.
• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of VR in geriatric education.

Main Methods:

• A two-phase feasibility study was conducted.
• Phase 1: Development of a case-based VR scenario integrating the 4Ms of AFHS.
• Phase 2: Implementation and evaluation of the VR module within a medical student geriatric curriculum.

Main Results:

• The VR case simulates a hospital and post-acute setting for hip fracture patient care.
• Students practiced triage and treatment, demonstrating AFHS knowledge.
• Preliminary results show significant pre-post knowledge improvement regarding AFHS.

Conclusions:

• The VR platform offers an innovative approach to teaching AFHS concepts and the 4Ms.
• Further research is needed to evaluate VR's impact on clinical competence in age-friendly care.