Effectiveness of virtual reality simulation-based training on enhancing positive attitudes toward newborn skin assessment among neonatal ıcu nurses

Abstract

BACKGROUND Maintenance of skin integrity in the neonatal period is crucial to avoid morbidity and mortality associated with skin problems in infants admitted to the neonatal ICUs (NICUs). Neonatal ICU nurses play a key role in the assessment of newborn skin for the early detection and management of skin injury. Consequently, there is a need to foster positive attitudes toward newborn skin assessment among nurses through training to reduce the incidence of skin injury. OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of virtual reality simulator (VRS)-based training on the attitude toward newborn skin assessment among NICU nurses. METHODS The study had a quasi-experimental design, involving pretest/posttest comparisons. A total of 73 NICU nurses (training group, n = 33; control group, n = 40) working in public and private hospitals in Gaziantep, Turkey, were included in the study, which was conducted from March to May 2022. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic and Occupational Data Form and the Newborn Skin Assessment Attitude Scale (NSAAS). The nurses in the training group received a VRS training program that was developed based on the theory of attitude change known as the Message-Learning Approach. The control group did not receive any training. RESULTS Intragroup and between-group comparisons of the pretest and posttest scores of the NSAAS subdimensions (awareness, practice, and avoidance) and total scores after training showed that all subdimension scores and total NSAAS scores improved significantly in the training group. CONCLUSIONS The VRS training was effective in enhancing or reinforcing positive attitudes toward newborn skin assessment among NICU nurses. © 2025 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.