Use of virtual reality in preoperative education of cardiac surgery patients – A feasibility study

Objective: A Virtual Patient Tour (VPT) was developed to inform cardiac surgery patients about their hospitalization from the admission to their postoperative stay on the ward. The objective of our study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of this VPT following the framework of the Virtual Reality Clinical Outcomes Research Experts Committee. Methods: In this single-centre cross-sectional study, adult patients admitted to the hospital for elective cardiac surgery were included. Acceptability, usability, and tolerability were measured by the validated questionnaires Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (acceptability), System Usability Scale (usability), and Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire (tolerability). Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. Results: Twenty-eight participants used the VPT. Results showed high acceptability (mean 16.7 ± 1.5), acceptable usability (mean 86.7 ± 9.3), and high tolerability (sickness score, median 7.1 % [0–17.1 %]). Conclusion: The use of the VPT is a feasible and promising technique. The next step is to optimize the content and technique of the VPT based on the suggestions of the participants. Practice implications: We recommend incorporating the VPT into preoperative patient education in addition to the routine information in cardiac surgery patients.