Development and evaluation of virtual simulation games to increase the confidence and self-efficacy of healthcare learners in vaccine communication, advocacy, and promotion

Emily J Doucette; Madison M Fullerton; Margaret Pateman; Alyssa Lip; Sherilyn K D Houle; James D Kellner; Jenine Leal; Shannon E MacDonald; Deborah McNeil; Jane Tyerman; Marian Luctkar-Flude; Sandra Davidson; Cora Constantinescu

doi:10.1186/s12909-024-05169-9

Development and evaluation of virtual simulation games to increase the confidence and self-efficacy of healthcare learners in vaccine communication, advocacy, and promotion

BMC Med Educ. 2024 Feb 25;24(1):190. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05169-9.

Authors

Emily J Doucette¹, Madison M Fullerton^{2

3}, Margaret Pateman^{2

3}, Alyssa Lip⁴, Sherilyn K D Houle⁵, James D Kellner^{6

7}, Jenine Leal^{8

9

10

11

12

13}, Shannon E MacDonald^{6

14}, Deborah McNeil^{2

7

8

10

15}, Jane Tyerman^{16

17}, Marian Luctkar-Flude^{17

18}, Sandra Davidson², Cora Constantinescu^{8

19}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. emily.doucette@ucalgary.ca.
² Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
³ 19 to Zero Inc, Rocky Mountain House, AB, Canada.
⁴ Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁵ School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁷ Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁸ Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁹ Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
¹⁰ O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
¹¹ Infection Prevention and Control, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, Canada.
¹² Antimicrobial Resistance - One Health Consortium, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
¹³ Real World Evidence Consortium, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
¹⁴ Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
¹⁵ Alberta Health Services, Maternal Newborn Child and Youth Strategic Clinical Network, Calgary, AB, Canada.
¹⁶ School of Nursing, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
¹⁷ Canadian Alliance of Nurse Educators using Simulation (CAN-Sim), Kingston, ON, Canada.
¹⁸ School of Nursing, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
¹⁹ Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Abstract

Background: Although healthcare providers (HCPs) are the most trusted source of vaccine information, there is a paucity of easily accessible, multidisciplinary educational tools on vaccine communication for them. Virtual simulation games (VSGs) are innovative yet accessible and effective tools in healthcare education. The objectives of our study were to develop VSGs to increase HCP confidence and self-efficacy in vaccine communication, advocacy, and promotion, and evaluate the VSGs' effectiveness using a pre-post self-assessment pilot study.

Methods: A multidisciplinary team of experts in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and simulation development created three VSGs for HCP learners focused on addressing conversations with vaccine hesitant individuals. We evaluated the VSGs with 24 nursing students, 30 pharmacy students, and 18 medical residents who completed surveys and 6-point Likert scale pre-post self-assessments to measure changes in their confidence and self-efficacy.

Results: There were no significant differences in baseline confidence and self-efficacy across the three HCP disciplines, despite varied levels of education. Post-VSG confidence and self-efficacy (median: 5) were significantly higher than pre-VSG (median: 4-5) for all three HCP disciplines (P ≤ 0.0005), highlighting the effectiveness of the VSGs. Medical residents reported significantly lower post-VSG confidence and self-efficacy than nursing and pharmacy learners despite completing the most significant amount of education.

Conclusions: Following the completion of the VSGs, learners in medicine, nursing, and pharmacy showed significant improvement in their self-assessed confidence and self-efficacy in holding vaccine conversations. The VSGs as an educational tool, in combination with existing clinical immunization training, can be used to increase HCP confidence and engagement in vaccine discussions with patients, which may ultimately lead to increased vaccine confidence among patients.

Keywords: Communication; Evaluation; Healthcare learner; Simulation games; Vaccine hesitancy; Virtual simulation.

MeSH terms

Communication
Delivery of Health Care
Humans
Learning
Pilot Projects
Self Efficacy*
Vaccines*

Substances

Vaccines

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding