Virtual Reality Educational Intervention for Nursing Students' Day Surgery Patient Counselling

NCT07305714 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: CINDY-2025-SEAMKEthics-20251108
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This pilot feasibility study evaluates whether a virtual reality (VR) educational program can help nursing students develop better skills for counseling day surgery patients. Day surgery patients spend limited time in the hospital but need comprehensive information about their surgery, recovery, and self-care at home. Nurses must provide effective patient education within short timeframes, which creates unique challenges. Research shows that surgical patients consistently report needing more education than they currently receive, particularly about managing pain, recognizing complications, and knowing what to expect during recovery. Traditional nursing education often lacks the patient's perspective and emotional context that characterize real clinical situations. Virtual reality simulation can address this gap by letting nursing students experience healthcare scenarios from the patient's viewpoint in a safe learning environment. The CINDY (Counseling Intervention for Day Surgery) intervention uses 360-degree VR videos showing day surgery situations from the patient's perspective. Students can practice counseling skills and learn to understand patient concerns before working with actual patients. This pilot feasibility study will include 60 nursing students from Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences. Thirty students will receive the CINDY VR intervention alongside their regular education, while 30 students will receive only standard education. The study will run for approximately 6-7 months. The primary goal is to test whether this VR approach is feasible and acceptable for nursing education. The study will measure:

• How successfully students can be recruited and retained
• Whether students complete the VR program as designed
• Student and educator satisfaction with the learning method
• Technical performance and usability of the VR platform
• Preliminary changes in student counseling competencies Results will inform the design of a larger study to definitively test whether VR training improves nursing students' patient counseling skills. This research may help nursing programs better prepare students to provide high-quality patient education in day surgery settings.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Virtual Reality; Nursing Education; Ambulatory Surgery; Day Surgery; Patient Counselling; Patient Education; Nursing Students; Perioperative Nursing; Feasibility Studies; Mixed Methods Studies

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Feasibility Indicators Composite

  Composite measure of five feasibility indicators with pre-specified success criteria: (1) Recruitment success: ≥70% of eligible students enrolled; (2) Retention: ≥80% of enrolled students complete all three measurement timepoints; (3) Intervention adherence: ≥75% of intervention group students complete the full 90-minute VR program; (4) Intervention fidelity: ≥85% of VR scenarios completed correctly according to protocol; (5) Acceptability: mean Post-System Usability Scale (P-SUS) score ≥70 among intervention group students. Success defined as meeting at least 4 of 5 pre-specified criteria.

  Baseline to 6-week follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Patient Counselling Competencies

  Baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention (T2), and 4-6 weeks post-intervention (T3)

• Qualitative User Experience

  Post-intervention period, within 4-6 weeks after intervention completion

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Nursing students (n=30) receive the CINDY virtual reality educational intervention (90 minutes, ThingLink platform) in addition to standard perioperative nursing education. The VR intervention includes interactive 360-degree scenarios showing day surgery patient journeys from the patient's perspective.

Behavioral: CINDY Virtual Reality Educational Intervention

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Nursing students (n=30) receive standard perioperative nursing education only, without the CINDY VR intervention.

Interventions

CINDY Virtual Reality Educational Intervention BEHAVIORAL

The CINDY (Counseling Intervention for Day Surgery) is a 90-minute virtual reality-based educational program delivered through the ThingLink platform. The intervention features interactive 360-degree VR scenarios depicting day surgery patient journeys from admission through discharge, including preoperative preparation, postoperative recovery, and discharge counseling. The scenarios were co-designed by a nursing educator, digital content expert, and day surgery nurse, and filmed in authentic clinical settings. Students experience situations from the patient's perspective, focusing on patient anxiety management, effective information provision, and counseling techniques for time-limited day surgery settings.

Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Currently enrolled in perioperative nursing course at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences
• Provided written informed consent
• Basic digital literacy and ability to use computer/tablet devices
• Access to required technology (computer, tablet, or smartphone with internet connection)
• Willingness to participate in all study procedures including surveys and potential interviews

You may not qualify if:

• Significant visual or hearing impairments that would prevent use of virtual reality technology
• History of motion sickness or documented intolerance to virtual reality environments
• Current or planned leave of absence during the study period that would prevent completion of all measurement timepoints
• Previous participation in CINDY intervention stakeholder evaluation (Phase 1)
• Inability to read and understand Finnish language study materials

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences: lead
• Tampere University: collaborator
• Medtronic: collaborator

Related Publications (3)

• Hoffmann TC, Glasziou PP, Boutron I, Milne R, Perera R, Moher D, Altman DG, Barbour V, Macdonald H, Johnston M, Lamb SE, Dixon-Woods M, McCulloch P, Wyatt JC, Chan AW, Michie S. Better reporting of interventions: template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide. BMJ. 2014 Mar 7;348:g1687. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g1687.

  PMID: 24609605 RESULT

• Skivington K, Matthews L, Simpson SA, Craig P, Baird J, Blazeby JM, Boyd KA, Craig N, French DP, McIntosh E, Petticrew M, Rycroft-Malone J, White M, Moore L. A new framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions: update of Medical Research Council guidance. BMJ. 2021 Sep 30;374:n2061. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n2061.

  PMID: 34593508 RESULT

• Eldridge SM, Chan CL, Campbell MJ, Bond CM, Hopewell S, Thabane L, Lancaster GA; PAFS consensus group. CONSORT 2010 statement: extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials. BMJ. 2016 Oct 24;355:i5239. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i5239.

  PMID: 27777223 RESULT

Central Study Contacts

Terhi Voltti, Msc, Doctoral candidate

CONTACT

+358 44 3423207; terhi.voltti@seamk.fi

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Doctoral Candidate, Lecturer, MSc

Model Details: Non-randomized parallel group design with intervention group (n=30) receiving CINDY VR intervention plus standard education and control group (n=30) receiving standard education only.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 12, 2025
• First Posted: December 26, 2025
• Study Start: January 30, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 18, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Last Updated: January 21, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share