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. 2022 Apr 1;44(3):e799-e803.
doi: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000002289.

An Immersive Virtual Reality Curriculum for Pediatric Hematology Clinicians on Shared Decision-making for Hydroxyurea in Sickle Cell Anemia

Francis J Real  1   2 , Anna M Hood  3 , David Davis  4 , Bradley Cruse  4 , Melissa Klein  1   2 , Yolanda Johnson  5 , Emily McTate  1   5 , William B Brinkman  1   2 , Rogelle Hackworth, Kenyon Hackworth, Charles T Quinn  1   6 , Lori E Crosby  1   5
Affiliations

An Immersive Virtual Reality Curriculum for Pediatric Hematology Clinicians on Shared Decision-making for Hydroxyurea in Sickle Cell Anemia

Francis J Real et al. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. .

Abstract

Although hydroxyurea (HU) is an effective treatment for sickle cell anemia, uptake remains low. Shared decision-making (SDM) is a recommended strategy for HU initiation to elicit family preferences; however, clinicians lack SDM training. We implemented an immersive virtual reality (VR) curriculum at 8 pediatric institutions to train clinicians on SDM that included counseling virtual patients. Clinicians' self-reported confidence significantly improved following the VR simulations on all communication skills assessed, including asking open-ended questions, eliciting specific concerns, and confirming understanding (Ps≤0.01 for all). VR may be an effective method for educating clinicians to engage in SDM for HU.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The virtual reality environment replicated a patient room that included the in-visit issue card to support providers in practicing shared decision with parent and patient avatars (A). Parent and patient avatars varied in appearance and could assume different body positions to indicate non-verbal cues to clinicians (B, C).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Clinician responses to specific items on the MEC-Spatial Presence Questionnaire. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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