Research Abstract: Advanced Trainee - Oral Presentation Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

Evaluating Educational Dementia Immersive Experience (EDIE): Variables associated with the greatest impact of virtual reality (VR) dementia education on healthcare workers’ (HCWs) attitudes and confidence to care for people with dementia (PwD). (#34)

Sarah Younan 1 , Linda Uslu 2 , Chinmay Patel 1 , Kanti Dahal 3 , Hayley Kirkham 4 , Karen Byth 3 5 , Lina Lee 1
  1. Blacktown & Mt Druitt Hospitals, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. Integrated & Community Health, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Westmead Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  4. Auburn Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  5. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Aims - This study evaluated the impact of the Enabling EDIE™ VR training program on HCWs attitudes and confidence to care for PwD. We sought to identify which factors were associated with changes in attitudes and confidence.

Methods - The VR program was conducted across four hospitals and one community centre in Western Sydney, Australia. Evaluation comprised of pre & post training surveys, including two validated outcome tools; The Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS) and The Confidence in Dementia Scale (CODE).

Results - 394 HCWs completed the training and 240 submitted matched pre & post-training surveys. Most participants were female (85%) and Nurses (77%). Overall, the DAS and CODE scores improved significantly post-training, with mean change 7.2, 95%CI (5.9-8.4) and 6.0, 95%CI (5.2-6.8) respectively. The observed change for both DAS and CODE depended significantly (p<0.05) on age, sex, workplace and having experience with dementia at work. The largest improvements were seen in those 18-34 years (DAS: 7.8 point improvement, 95%CI (6.0-9.7) and CODE: 6.9 point improvement, 95%CI (5.6-8.2)), in females (7.8, 95%CI (6.5-9.1) and 6.4 95%CI (5.5-7.3)), in Integrated & Community Health staff (9.4, 95%CI (7.4-11.3) and 7.4 95%CI (5.9-8.8)), in those without experience working with PwD (10.2, 95%CI (7.3-13.0) and 8.0 95%CI (5.7-10.4)).

Conclusions - The greatest change in DAS & CODE scores was seen in younger female HCWs, staff from Integrated & Community Health and those who do not regularly encounter PwD at work. These results could help prioritise particular groups of HCWs for dementia education training.