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Background <p>Postmortem care, an essential component of end-of-life nursing education, represents a valuable topic for inclusion in virtual reality (VR)-based programs. However, studies directly examining the application of VR for teaching postmortem care remain scarce. Therefore, this study aims to design a VR-based teaching module for postmortem care and evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing knowledge among newly employed nurses and nursing students.</p> Methods <p>A quasi-experimental, one-group repeated-measures design was employed. A VR module was developed to provide instructions on performing postmortem care, assisting with body cleaning, selecting appropriate clothing, maintaining proper posture, and grooming the face to preserve the appearance of the deceased. In this study, a demographic questionnaire, a postmortem care knowledge test, and a VR satisfaction survey were employed. Participants were enrolled between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, and completed pre- and post-tests to evaluate knowledge before and after the VR training. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-tests (Wilcoxon), independent t-tests/one-way analysis of variance (or Mann–Whitney/Kruskal–Wallis), and multiple linear regression.</p> Results <p>Overall, 215 newly employed nurses and 1,574 nursing students from eight nursing schools in northern and eastern Taiwan participated in this study. Following the VR intervention, the postmortem care knowledge scores of the participants significantly increased (71.3 ± 20.4 to 85.4 ± 17.03, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001), with a moderate effect size (<i>Cohen’s d</i> = 0.69). Participants with a junior college education (<i>β</i> = 5.7, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) and those without prior hospice training (<i>β</i> = 2.8, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.01) demonstrated particularly pronounced knowledge gains.</p> Conclusions <p>This study represents the application of VR for postmortem care education and involved the largest participant cohort reported to date. In this one‑group pre–post study, a brief VR module was associated with immediate improvements in postmortem care knowledge among nursing students and newly employed nurses. These findings support integrating VR technology into nursing curricula to strengthen competencies in postmortem care.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>

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Virtual reality-based postmortem care training: a quasi-experimental study with nursing students and newly employed nurses at a teaching hospital

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月7日

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  • Yi-Lin Chen,
  • You-Kuan Liu,
  • Chu-Hsuan Cheng,
  • Tzu-Hung Liu

摘要

Background

Postmortem care, an essential component of end-of-life nursing education, represents a valuable topic for inclusion in virtual reality (VR)-based programs. However, studies directly examining the application of VR for teaching postmortem care remain scarce. Therefore, this study aims to design a VR-based teaching module for postmortem care and evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing knowledge among newly employed nurses and nursing students.

Methods

A quasi-experimental, one-group repeated-measures design was employed. A VR module was developed to provide instructions on performing postmortem care, assisting with body cleaning, selecting appropriate clothing, maintaining proper posture, and grooming the face to preserve the appearance of the deceased. In this study, a demographic questionnaire, a postmortem care knowledge test, and a VR satisfaction survey were employed. Participants were enrolled between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, and completed pre- and post-tests to evaluate knowledge before and after the VR training. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-tests (Wilcoxon), independent t-tests/one-way analysis of variance (or Mann–Whitney/Kruskal–Wallis), and multiple linear regression.

Results

Overall, 215 newly employed nurses and 1,574 nursing students from eight nursing schools in northern and eastern Taiwan participated in this study. Following the VR intervention, the postmortem care knowledge scores of the participants significantly increased (71.3 ± 20.4 to 85.4 ± 17.03, p < 0.001), with a moderate effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.69). Participants with a junior college education (β = 5.7, p < 0.001) and those without prior hospice training (β = 2.8, p < 0.01) demonstrated particularly pronounced knowledge gains.

Conclusions

This study represents the application of VR for postmortem care education and involved the largest participant cohort reported to date. In this one‑group pre–post study, a brief VR module was associated with immediate improvements in postmortem care knowledge among nursing students and newly employed nurses. These findings support integrating VR technology into nursing curricula to strengthen competencies in postmortem care.

Clinical trial number

Not applicable.