Nursing students perceptions of a virtual simulation for developing psychiatric nursing skills: A usability study

Area of Science:

• Medical Simulation
• Virtual Reality in Healthcare
• Psychiatric Nursing Education

Background:

• Current virtual simulations for workplace violence lack psychiatric-specific features.
• Key elements missing include dynamic risk assessment and symptom-focused communication.
• A novel "Psychiatric Violence Risk Assessment and Response" simulation system was developed to fill this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the usability of a new virtual simulation system.
• The system is designed for identifying and responding to psychiatric violence risks.
• Usability was assessed using established models and metrics.

Main Methods:

• The Technology Acceptance Model guided the evaluation.
• Five experts used a heuristic checklist for assessment.
• Fifteen nursing students evaluated usability via System Usability Scale, satisfaction questionnaires, Simulation Design Scale, and user experience metrics, followed by surveys and interviews.

Main Results:

• Pareto analysis identified aesthetics and minimalist design as top-rated features (21%).
• Error prevention was rated lowest (2%).
• Key usability scores included System Usability Scale (SUS) 87.67 ± 5.04, satisfaction 3.56 ± 0.54, and Simulation Design Scale 4.14 ± 0.37.

Conclusions:

• The psychiatric violence risk assessment and response virtual simulation system demonstrates high usability.
• The system is perceived as easy to use and satisfactory by users.
• Overall evaluations indicate strong acceptance and effectiveness for training.