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

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 perspective of either parents or clinicians.

Results: VR significantly enhanced perceived self-location (P=.01), while adopting a clinician's perspective amplified emotional engagement (P=.03). However, VR did not significantly influence narrative transportation (P=.35). An interaction effect was found between the platform and player's perspective on narrative transportation (P=.04). Several indirect effects of media elements on affective empathy were observed via other psychological factors, though the direct effect of VR on affective empathy was not significant (P=.84).

Conclusions: These findings underscore the potential of VR in medical education, suggesting that perspective-taking should be carefully considered when designing immersive learning experiences. The study advocates for broader integration of VR technologies into medical curricula to enhance instruction quality and patient-centered care.