Design and evaluation of a 3D virtual environment for collaborative learning in interprofessional team care delivery

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 64-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sok Ying Liaw ◽  
Shawn Leng-Hsien Soh ◽  
Khoon Kiat Tan ◽  
Ling Ting Wu ◽  
John Yap ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sok Ying Liaw ◽  
Shawn Soh ◽  
Ling Ting Wu ◽  
Seng Chee Tan ◽  
Lai Fun Wong ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND There has been a dearth of collaborative learning across tertiary institutions due to challenges in scheduling and geographical locations. Three-dimensional virtual environments are a viable and innovative tool to bring diverse healthcare students to learn together. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to describe the development of a multiuser virtual environment and to evaluate healthcare students’ experiences of their collaborative learning in the environment. METHODS A mixed method study design was employed. Participants from six healthcare courses (Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Medical Social Work) were recruited from three institutions to form six interprofessional healthcare teams who participated in interdisciplinary team care via a virtual environment. Four focus groups were conducted with 27 healthcare students after they completed questionnaires to evaluate their perceived usability, the sociability of computer-supported collaborative learning, and senses of presence. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Four themes emerged from the students’ experiences: “Bringing everyone together” to learn in the virtual platform was perceived as a valuable experience; “Feeling real”, whereby the students felt immersed in their own healthcare profession’s roles; learning in the virtual environment was perceived as “less threatening” compared to face-to-face interactions; and there were some “technical hiccups” related to sound quality and navigation. The participants reported positively on the usability (mean 3.48, SD 0.64) and feasibility (mean 3.39, SD 0.60) of the virtual environment in supporting collaborative learning. With a maximum score of 168, they also perceived a moderately strong sense of presence (mean 107.24, SD 17.78) in the environment. CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence for the acceptance of a virtual platform for collaborative learning in team care delivery. Given its flexibility, practicality, and scalability, this virtual platform serves as a promising tool for collaborative learning across different healthcare courses and institutions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-87
Author(s):  
Kateryna Metersky ◽  
Jasna K. Schwind

Interprofessional care (IPC) has been discussed in the literature as having the ability to lower health care expenditures, decrease wait times, enhance patient health outcomes and increase healthcare provider (HCP) satisfaction with care-delivery. To date, limited research has been conducted on patients’ experiences of receiving IPC. Using Connelly and Clandinin’s Narrative Inquiry qualitative research approach, three participants were invited to engage in a modified version of Schwind’s Narrative Reflective Process, a creative self-expression tool that utilizes storytelling, metaphor selection, drawing, creative writing and reflective dialogue. Participants shared their stories, and selected and drew metaphors that best represent for them their experiences of receiving IPC. They were also asked whether or not they believe person-centered care was delivered to them. Collected stories were analyzed as per the three common places of Narrative Inquiry: temporality, sociality and place, as well as the three levels of justification: personal, practical and social. Told stories were examined through the theoretical lens of the National Canadian Interprofessional Competency Framework. Three narrative threads emerged within this study: communication, interprofessional team composition, and patient within interprofessional team. The findings appear helpful to inform educators, HCP, policy makers, and researchers, as they strive to enhance person-centered interprofessional care practice. For patients, a clear opportunity for their voices to be heard has been outlined.


2013 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-323
Author(s):  
Youcef Bouchekioua ◽  
Holly C. Miller ◽  
Paul Craddock ◽  
Aaron P. Blaisdell ◽  
Mikael Molet

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