Parkinson's disease simulation in virtual reality for empathy training in medical education

Introducing empathy for patients with debilitating diseases to medical students has always been a challenge in medical education, especially during the pre-clinical years. Since the most recent decade, a downward trend in medical students' empathy levels has been observed. With the rapid evolution of technologies, it is possible to use advanced gaming devices as tools to improve teaching efficacy, enhance students' understanding of a specific disease and influence their prosocial behavior towards patients. Studies suggest that virtual reality (VR) game applications are effective in education due to their immersive interaction, fully controllable virtual environment, and the feeling of presence and embodiment. The current study proposes a VR gaming application to enhance medical students' empathy level for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). By engaging students in the simulated daily life of patients with PD from their perspective, the study aims to help medical students to have hands-on experience of the disease and thus to facilitate their understanding of the symptoms and the patients' experiences. In-game data and pre- and post- measurements are designed for assessment and analysis. By combining the expertise of the human-computer interaction field and the medical field, the application embeds professional and accurate medical knowledge with trending VR techniques and interactive content to promote empathy.