Virtual Reality and Lived-Experience Speakers in Homelessness Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of Medical Sciences Students' Empathy and Attitudes Toward People Experiencing Homelessness

Summary

The goal of this study is to learn whether a virtual reality experience about homelessness, used together with talks from people with lived experience of homelessness, can improve empathy and attitudes toward people experiencing homelessness in undergraduate medical sciences students. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Do students who complete a virtual reality experience before hearing from lived-experience speakers show greater improvement in attitudes toward people experiencing homelessness than students who hear from the speakers without prior virtual reality exposure?
* Do students who complete a virtual reality experience before hearing from lived-experience speakers report greater engagement with the speaker talks than students who hear from the speakers without prior virtual reality exposure?
* How do students describe the distinct value of virtual reality and lived-experience speakers in supporting empathy development and understanding of homelessness?
* How does the order of virtual reality and lived-experience speaker activities influence student learning?

The study hypothesis was that students who completed the virtual reality experience before hearing from the lived-experience speakers would show greater improvement in attitudes toward people experiencing homelessness, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Homelessness Inventory and the Health Professionals' Attitudes Toward the Homeless Inventory, than students who heard from the speakers without prior virtual reality exposure. The study also hypothesized that students who completed the virtual reality experience first would report greater engagement with the lived-experience speaker talks.

Researchers compared two groups of undergraduate medical sciences students. One group completed the virtual reality experience before hearing from guest speakers with lived experience of homelessness. The other group heard from the guest speakers first and completed the virtual reality experience after the post-intervention survey. Researchers compared the groups to see whether completing virtual reality before the speaker session led to greater changes in students' empathy, perspective-taking, and attitudes toward people experiencing homelessness. Participants completed online surveys before and after the educational sessions.

Students were invited to take part in focus group discussions about the virtual reality experience, guest speakers, empathy, and learning

Conditions

• Empathy Towards People Experiencing Homelessness
• Education
• Education, Medical, Undergraduate

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

We Live Here virtual reality homelessness perspective-taking simulation

Participants completed We Live Here, an immersive virtual reality simulation designed to support perspective-taking about homelessness. The simulation was created in collaboration with a person with lived experience of homelessness and places the user in the perspective of "Rocky," a woman experiencing homelessness. The experience begins with a voiceover describing how Rocky came to experience homelessness after job loss. Participants are then placed inside her tent during a police operation at an encampment and are asked to interact with personal items, such as photographs, a radio, and a music box, that provide information about Rocky's life, relationships, memories, and sense of home. The simulation is intended to help students visualize and emotionally engage with the circumstances, losses, and human experiences associated with homelessness before or after hearing from lived-experience speakers.

BEHAVIORAL

Lived-experience speaker session on homelessness

Participants attended a classroom-based session with guest speakers who had lived experience of homelessness. The speakers shared personal narratives about how they came to experience homelessness, the challenges and barriers they faced, how they were treated while experiencing homelessness, and their experiences with housing, education, stigma, and support systems. Students had the opportunity to listen to the speakers' stories and ask questions. The session was intended to deepen students' understanding of homelessness, challenge misconceptions, and support empathy toward people experiencing homelessness.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Western University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-09

Primary Completion

2025-11-14

Completion

2025-11-14

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations