Usability assessment for cave automatic virtual environment-based immersive education system on novice nurses and...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Technology
• Virtual Reality in Healthcare
• Neurocritical Care Nursing

Background:

• Nurses require specialized training in enteral nutrition, particularly for neurocritical patients.
• Traditional methods are insufficient for complex critical care scenarios.
• Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) is a novel virtual reality (VR) technology with limited evaluation in nursing education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an immersive education system utilizing CAVE for enteral nutrition care.
• To evaluate the usability, learning immersion, simulator sickness, and satisfaction of the CAVE system.
• To assess the educational potential of CAVE technology in neurocritical patient care.

Main Methods:

• Convergent mixed-methods study combining a single-group post-test design with structured interviews.
• Development of a CAVE-based immersive education system for enteral nutrition.
• 57 participants (18 novice nurses, 39 nursing students) evaluated the system via questionnaires and interviews.

Main Results:

• The CAVE system achieved a usability score of 78.99 ± 10.76 and learning immersion of 64.12 ± 5.73.
• Participant satisfaction exceeded 85% across categories, with minimal simulator sickness (0.33 ± 1.46).
• Qualitative analysis revealed four themes, with mixed-methods integration yielding insights into system usability.

Conclusions:

• The developed CAVE-based immersive education system shows promise for nursing education in neurocritical care.
• The system exhibits good usability and positive educational potential.
• Improvements in system communication, device usability, and scoring accuracy are needed for optimal effectiveness.