Exploring the use of virtual reality to support falls awareness education in care homes: a multi-phase feasibility study (Preprint)

Abstract

There is a public health need to reduce falls in older people residing in care homes, due to high associated morbidity, mortality and costs. There is a lack of research exploring effective education in falls prevention in care homes. Virtual reality education is emerging as a viable teaching strategy to improve knowledge acquisition but has not yet been applied in the social care sector. This study is the first to explore the design, and acceptability of Virtual Reality (VR) as a method of delivering training in falls prevention for staff in care homes.

This project sought to explore care home staff perceptions of current training practices, and the feasibility of a developed VR falls awareness training proof of concept.

A two-phase research approach was adopted, including an initial exploratory qualitative research phase (Phase I) with care staff and managers (n=37) across 10 care homes to guide the design and content of the training; followed by the development phase, and a second research phase (Phase II), a mixed methods study with care staff (n=40) exploring the feasibility of the proof-of-concept technology, and perspectives of further development needs for the VR training programme.

Engagement, immersion and enjoyment were key factors related to the acceptability of training methods. The care staff reported that the VR app suited their learning styles and VR was acceptable as a training method. Utilisation of a case study scenario based on a resident at risk of falls increased empathy towards residents and their risks as well as experiences. Feedback for further development included additional locations, scenarios, and interactable features.

Identifying a potentially engaging method of falls prevention training may influence the creation of future training programmes for care homes: to assist in increasing care staff knowledge and skills and application into practice. Additional research is required to develop the proof-of-concept into a prototype, and test usability further.