Virtual Patients - An Interactive Educational Module for Higher Education

NCT06706011 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2023-06687-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 56
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Popular Science Summary (for the whole project) In modern healthcare, several challenges exist: short patient visits, highly specialized care, and limited opportunities for education and professional development among healthcare staff. In theoretical training efforts, it can be difficult to highlight and provide opportunities to practice complex patient interactions. The overall goal of this project is to evaluate the effects of an interactive educational module that includes training with virtual patients (VP). Single training sessions rarely lead to behavioral changes in clinical practice, but concrete training with a clear connection to clinical tasks can have a better effect. In this research project, VPs will be part of an educational module at universities and colleges, where the overarching goal is for students to practice clinically relevant communication areas. Two main areas have been selected for the VP in this project: intimate partner violence and suicide risk assessment. Both of these areas are of great significance to public health and have direct relevance to clinical care, especially in psychiatry. Specific objectives of the project include exploring the user experience of the VP, examining whether the VP contributes to increased knowledge and confidence in asking questions within the chosen focus area, studying students' experiences of using the VP, how it has influenced their work with patients after graduation, and finally, examining user patterns on the VP platform. Previous research suggests that virtual patient cases can have positive effects on learning and engagement and may even be more effective than traditional education in improving clinical decision-making and critical thinking skills. VPs have been studied in various medical specialties, but there is a lack of knowledge specifically in psychiatry. In this project, researchers will evaluate the use of VPs in psychiatric training within medical, nursing, and psychology programs.

Conditions

Psychiatric Problem; Psychiatric Issue; Violence

Keywords

virtual patient; education

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• General Self-Efficacy Scale

  This scale is a self-report measure of self-efficacy. Likert scale 1-4: 1=Not at all true, 2=Hardly true, 3=Moderately true, 4=Exactly true.

  Up to two months

• General Self-Efficacy - Visual Analog Scale

  Measuring self-efficacy. Scale 1-10: 1=Low, 10=High.

  Up to two months

• Level of Knowledge - Test

  Measuring level of knowledge. 15 multiple-choice question about inpartner violence.

  Up to two months

• Level of Knowledge - Visual Analog Scale

  Measuring level of knowledge, Scale 1-10: 1=Low, 10=High.

  Up to two months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Virtuel Patient

Other: Virtual Patient

Control

NO INTERVENTION

No Virtuel Patient

Interventions

Virtual Patient OTHER

Interactive Educational Activity

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 100 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• \* Students in Nursing Program

You may not qualify if:

• \* None, except if the student does not want to participate

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Karolinska Institutet: lead

Study Sites (1)

Centre for Psychatry Research, Karolinska Institutet

Stockholm, Sweden

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 28, 2024
• First Posted: November 26, 2024
• Study Start: August 26, 2024
• Primary Completion: September 9, 2024
• Study Completion: September 10, 2024
• Last Updated: November 26, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

SE (1)