The Perspectives of Physiotherapy Students About Virtual Reality and Technology: Educational Year and Personality Types Differences

Objectives: This study aimed to examine whether virtual reality (VR) awareness and technology readiness levels in physiotherapy students differ according to their education years and personality types and to investigate the relationship between VR awareness and technology readiness. Materials and Methods: Participants included 279 physiotherapy students aged 18-30 who voluntarily consented to participate. Data collection process included socio-demographic information, the Technology Readiness Index, a personality questionnaire based on Holland’s typology, and a VR awareness section. Results: Analysis revealed that while no significant differences were found in technology readiness and VR awareness across different educational years (p>0.05), significant differences were observed based on personality types (p<0.05). Specifically, enterprising and investigative types exhibited higher levels of technology readiness and VR awareness than social and conventional ones (p<0.05). Moreover, a moderately positive correlation was found between technology readiness and VR awareness scores (r=0.424, p<0.001). Conclusion: The study highlights the significance of personality types in influencing VR awareness and technology readiness among physiotherapy students, regardless of their educational year. These results suggest that appropriate educational strategies could be developed to promote the effective use of technology in physiotherapy education and to enhance students' knowledge and skills in this field. The personality types could be considered when developing educational strategies.