S1256 Investigating the Effects of Virtual Reality Exercise Educational Intervention on Future Resident Physician Recommendations

Abstract

Introduction:: Virtual reality (VR) interventions have been shown to help patients manage their weight. While the effects of VR based exercise on burning calories have been measured, there are no studies on the effects of VR based exercise on weight loss. The purpose of this study is to understand changes in knowledge and attitudes around VR based exercise and its applications on health and weight loss following a lecture about the topic. Methods: 15-minute lecture was designed and given to internal medicine residents. The lecture covered the definition of VR, its application on health and weight loss, the role of VR based exercise on burning calories, VR cost, and an overview of VR exercise games. A flyer about using VR was provided. Providers completed an IRB approved three-minute survey before and after the lecture. This survey covered issues addressed in the VR lecture using a 1-7 Likert scale (1=strongly disagree; 7=strongly agree). A t-test was used to analyze the data. Results: 21 residents with no VR experience (NO-VR) and 12 residents with prior VR experience (Yes-VR) completed the surveys. Point estimate, the mean difference between the pre- and post- test,was determined (noted in parentheses). There was an improvement in both groups in understanding of applications of VR based exercise on health (NO-VR: 7.90 p=1.4e-07;Yes-VR: 4.42, p=0.001) and weight loss (NO-VR: 9.91 p=3.67e-09;Yes-VR: 2.91, p=0.014), familiarity with VR resources (NO-VR: 8.13 p=9.03e-08;Yes-VR: 4.33, p=0.001), familiarity with the financial cost of VR (NO-VR: 6.88 p=1.09e-06;Yes-VR: 3.89, p=0.002), and willingness to recommend VR to patients (NO-VR: 6.78, p=1.33e-06; Yes-VR: 4.59, p=0.0007). Additionally, NO-VR residents showed significant interest in using VR for themselves (NO-VR: 2.09 p=0.049; Yes-VR: 1.53, p=0.152) and were more concerned about the financial cost of VR for their patients (NO-VR: 2.70 p=0.013; Yes-VR: 1.17, p=0.265). Conclusion: Regardless of experience with VR, a short lecture on VR improved residents’ willingness to recommend this innovative technology to patients to improve health and weight loss. Additionally, residents with no VR experience showed more improvement in post-survey data and were more likely to indicate interest in VR for themselves, showing the effectiveness of this lecture. Future work will investigate how these recommendations may improve weight loss in patients.