Perceptions of a metaverse platform for oral health education (Meta-OHE) among adolescents: a focus group discussion

Objective To explore secondary school students' perceptions of a metaverse platform called Meta-OHE (metaverse for oral health education).Methods Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with purposively sampled 16-year-old secondary school students from semi-government schools in Malaysia. Participants engaged with the Meta-OHE platform on Mitoworld for one week before the FGDs sessions on https://mitoworld.io/world/w/2808/meta-ohe . The FGDs, conducted in both English and Malay, each lasted between 30-60 minutes and were guided by a semi-structured topic guide until data saturation was achieved. The data were analysed through framework analysis, using NVivo 14.0 to systematically code and develop themes.Results A total of 81 students participated in 16 FGDs. Emerging themes in their perceptions of the metaverse platform Meta-OHE included freedom and exploration, interactive features, access to oral health information, and immersive learning experiences. Participants favoured visually appealing environments, customisable avatars, diverse oral health education content, and the integration of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. Desired platform features from the participants also included gamification, reward systems, up-to-date information, diverse environments, social features, short videos, educational simulations, and age-appropriate content.Conclusion The study revealed positive perceptions of Meta-OHE for oral health education, suggesting its potential as an innovative tool for engaging secondary school students in oral health promotion and education. However, frequent updates, maintenance and expansions to content, technical diversity and features were emphasised to maintain interest and relevance.