Application of multi-sensory virtual reality in health education of prostate cancer: a randomized controlled trial

Virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged as an innovative teaching and training tool across numerous educational domains, yet its potential impact in community health education, particularly for culturally sensitive topics like prostate cancer (PCa), remains insufficiently explored.

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a multi‑sensory, learning-based VR health education tool (M‑PCP) on PCa knowledge, cognitive load and satisfaction among men in the community. A parallel-group two‑arm randomized controlled trial was carried out in a community center in Shandong Province, China. Ninety-six male subjects aged 45-75 years were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental group (VR‑based M‑PCP (48)) and the control group (traditional multimedia lecture (48)). Results included PCa knowledge (pre-test/post-test), cognitive load (mental load and mental effort), and satisfaction with the learning experience.

The VR-based method showed that the health knowledge of the learners was significantly increased (mean 22.34 vs. 18.76, p = .003, η² = 0.087) compared to health lectures, satisfaction was significantly higher (p < .001) and cognitive load was significantly lower (mental load: d = 1.78; mental effort: d = 2.45). All effect sizes (d) were medium to large.

The findings indicate that VR technology can enhance the learning outcomes in the short term community health education around PCa awareness. Long-term retention, behavioral change and scalability into various settings should be explored in future research.