The effect of a developed virtual reality application on nursing students' pediatric basic life support skills

This study was conducted to develop a virtual reality simulation for pediatric basic life support (PBLS) and to evaluate the effect of the developed virtual simulator on the PBLS skills of nursing students. The sub-objective of the study was to examine the satisfaction and self-confidence levels of nursing students. The randomized controlled study was conducted with 3rd-year nursing students at the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Afyonkarahisar University of Health Sciences between April 2023 and June 2024. A total of 110 students (experimental: 55, control: 55) were included in the study. The researchers developed a virtual reality PTYD simulation application that can be integrated with virtual reality glasses. Students in the experimental group were exposed to the PTYD virtual reality simulation, while those in the control group were exposed to the demonstration application. Data were collected using the Introductory Information Form, PBLS Application Skill Evaluation Form, Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning Scale, Sense of Presence Scale, and PBLS Information Form. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Cohen's Kappa analyses, and independent samples t-test. The distribution of descriptive characteristics of the students in the experimental and control groups was similar (p>0.05). The PBLS application skill levels of the nursing students in the experimental group were statistically significantly higher than in the demonstration group (p<0.05). In addition, the satisfaction and self-confidence levels of the students in the experimental group were higher than in the control group (p<0.05) and the students perceived the virtual environment as more realistic. The research results showed that virtual reality-based PBLS simulation application is an effective educational tool in developing PBLS skills of nursing students, increasing their learning satisfaction and increasing their self-confidence levels. In this context, it is recommended that virtual reality simulations be integrated into the nursing education curriculum.