Effect of virtual reality head-mounted display on academic motivation and skills of millennial nursing students in teaching infection prevention and control

Background: The learning styles and personality traits of millennial nursing students are different from those of previous generations, presenting a challenge in teaching as these differences affect academic motivation, knowledge, and clinical skills. Alternative models of teaching that are more interactive, technology-based, practical, and observational are needed. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of virtual reality head-mounted display (VRHMD) on academic motivation and skills of millennial nursing students in teaching prevention and control of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design and involved 64 nursing students who participated in the research. They were randomly divided into two groups using purposive sampling. The intervention group used VRHMD method, while the control group followed the routine method (the practice laboratory using mannequins). In this study, the inclusion criteria consisted of bachelor's and associate degree nursing students in their third semester who completed the course of fundamental nursing practicum and were able to operate VR devices. They performed a 20-minute exercise three times. After the complete practice, data were collected using Academic Motivation Scale (AMS)-Short Indonesian Language Version questionnaire to measure Academic Motivation and the assessment of clinical skills to prevent CAUTIs questionnaire to measure clinical skills. The assessment was done immediately before the intervention and immediately after the intervention. Data were analyzed using independent T-test and Chi-square test. Results: The mean levels of academic motivation in the experimental group during the pre-test and post-test were 73.53 ± 3.100 and 84.09 ± 3.286. Moreover, VRHMD led to higher academic motivation in students compared to those who utilized traditional methods. This difference was statistically significant (p=0.004). Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study, VRHMD is effective in improving the skills and academic motivation levels of millennial nursing students. This method is recommended as a teaching method for millennial nursing students.