Understanding, Experience, and Attitudes Toward Extended Reality Technology : A Multicenter Study

Abbas, Jonathan R. and Townley, Oliver G. and Rajai, Azita and Payton, Antony and McGrath, Brendan A. and Tolley, Neil and Bruce, Iain A. and Isba, Rachel (2024) Understanding, Experience, and Attitudes Toward Extended Reality Technology : A Multicenter Study. Journal of Medical Extended Reality, 1 (1). pp. 73-83. ISSN 2994-1520

Abstract

Extended reality technology (XRT) is predicted to play an important role in the future of health care. Although the hardware ecosystem is evolving rapidly, potential barriers to adoption include cost, physical space to use the hardware, side effects, and low understanding of the technology. This article aimed to explore these barriers by assessing the understanding, attitudes, and experience of junior doctors. In this multi-method, cross-sectional study, we administered a bespoke data capture tool to junior doctors in the North West of England. This focused on three domains: understanding, experience, and attitudes toward XRT in health care. Understanding was assessed by an objective knowledge test in a multiple-choice question format and specific self-assessed knowledge questions in a Likert-style questionnaire. Experience and attitudes toward XRT were measured using self-assessed experience questions and self-assessed attitude questions within the same Likert-style questionnaire. A total of 199/224 (89%) doctors who were approached participated in this study. The mean objective knowledge test score was 4.3/10 (range: 0.0–8.0; standard deviation = 1.7) and the median self-assessed knowledge questions score was 3.0/6.0 (interquartile range [IQR]: 2.0–4.0). The median self-assessed experience questions score was 2.2/6.0 (IQR: 1.5–3.5). In terms of attitude toward this technology, 185/199 (93.0%) of participants were interested in using this technology in medical education and similarly, 187/199 (94.0%) believed that it may be effective in medical training. This study demonstrated a low understanding of, and experience with, XRT in a population of junior doctors. Despite this, there was considerable interest in the potential value of this technology in health care, particularly within education. If XRT is to be widely adopted across the National Health Services, work is required to raise awareness of the technology, capabilities, and associated limitations.