Media-Induced and Psychological Factors That Foster Empathy Through Virtual Reality in Nursing Education: 2×2 Between-Subjects Experimental Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool in medical education, particularly for fostering critical skills such as empathy. However, how VR, combined with perspective-taking, influences affective empathy in nursing education remains underexplored.

Objective

This study investigates the influence of VR and perspective-taking on affective empathy in nursing education, focusing on 4 psychological factors: perceived self-location, narrative transportation, emotional engagement, and affective empathy.

Methods

A 2×2 between-subjects design was used, involving 69 nursing undergraduates from two Midwest universities. The participants engaged with a narrative-focused video game, That Dragon, Cancer, in either VR or non-VR conditions and from the perspectiv

SUBMITTER: Huang KT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11975256 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature