Effects of immersive virtual reality cardiopulmonary resuscitation training on prospective kindergarten teachers' learning achievements, attitudes and self‐efficacy

Children's unexpected cardiac arrest warrants cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by kindergarten teachers. Yet, recent research revealed trained personnel reporting poor transfer of acquired skills during real‐world emergencies with conventional CPR training. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) training induces a greater sense of presence and agency than conventional CPR training and may be more effective in terms of increasing trainees' intention and initiative to perform CPR in real‐world emergencies. A quasi‐experiment was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the IVR‐based CPR training method in terms of enhancing the intention to perform CPR. The trial enrolled 50 participants, 25 of whom examined a child patient in an IVR virtual scenario, using an AED, and performed two rounds of two‐minute chest compressions. The remaining 25 participants were trained using a video with consistent content on a monitor. A generalised estimating equation analysis demonstrated that the IVR training method significantly increased prospective kindergarten teachers' self‐efficacy for performing CPR, positive attitudes towards CPR, and CPR knowledge. This advantage was also maintained after the five‐week follow‐up. Thus, CPR teaching via IVR looks to be an excellent way to enhance the intention to perform CPR and may be of great value in improving existing CPR training systems. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic Many trainees who have received traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training hesitate to perform the skills learned in a real‐world emergency. The critical determinant of whether an individual performs a behaviour is the individual's ‘intention’ to perform that behaviour. Individual's self‐efficacy to perform CPR, attitudes towards CPR, and perceived social norms are three determinants that influence intention to perform CPR. Immersive media such as virtual reality may elicit more attitudinal changes and a greater sense of learner self‐efficacy than current mainstream media. What this paper adds The study's results indicated that compared to conventional technology‐supported video training, immersive virtual reality (IVR) training significantly increased participants' self‐efficacy about performing CPR, positive attitudes towards CPR and CPR knowledge. CPR training through IVR may enhance trainees' intention to perform CPR in real‐world emergencies. Implications for practice and/or policy The effectiveness of combining IVR technology into existing CPR training methods such as mixed reality training, which blends virtual environments with realistic mannequins, should be further examined in the future. IVR may be a more effective medium for enhancing the intention to perform behaviour than conventional technology. Future research could further experiment with the use of IVR as a behavioural intervention technique in education