UEL

🩺 Ethnoacting in VR for Cognitive Empathy in Nurses

Pilot Study | University of East London | March 2025

❤️ Why Cognitive Empathy? Developing cognitive empathy is vital for nursing students and practitioners to understand patients’ feelings and provide compassionate care. Traditional role-play methods can be challenging or limiting, so this study explores an innovative VR-based alternative grounded in dramatic techniques.

🎭 The Approach Based on the Interacting Cognitive Subsystems (ICS) theory from psychology, this intervention:

Uses Ethnoacting to embody patient experiences without needing group performances
Immerses nurses in VR scenarios that foster a deep understanding of patient feelings
Focuses on individual internalisation rather than group role-play dynamics
This method aims to enhance cognitive empathy skills while respecting the practical realities of nursing education.

🧪 The Pilot Tested in March 2025 with nursing students and apprentices actively working in healthcare, the pilot included:

Immersive VR sessions juxtaposing patient perspectives with nurse attitudes
Survey research and statistical analysis to measure effectiveness
Qualitative feedback highlighting positive experiences and a focus on authentic patient understanding
Results show promising evidence for VR as a powerful tool to cultivate empathy in healthcare education.

📚 Forthcoming Publication The full findings will be published in:

Stamatiou, E., Cox, G., Thoma, V., Balla, G. & Sanni, O. (forthcoming 2026). Ethnoacting in VR for Cognitive Empathy in Nurses: An Equivalent to Role-Playing in Healthcare Education. In Tizzard-Kleister & Firth, T. (Eds.), Using Applied Drama in Healthcare Professional Education. Routledge.

🩺 Ethnoacting in VR for Cognitive Empathy in Nurses

Pilot Study | University of East London | March 2025

🎭 The Approach Based on the Interacting Cognitive Subsystems (ICS) theory from psychology, this intervention:

Uses Ethnoacting to embody patient experiences without needing group performances
Immerses nurses in VR scenarios that foster a deep understanding of patient feelings
Focuses on individual internalisation rather than group role-play dynamics
This method aims to enhance cognitive empathy skills while respecting the practical realities of nursing education.

🧪 The Pilot Tested in March 2025 with nursing students and apprentices actively working in healthcare, the pilot included:

Immersive VR sessions juxtaposing patient perspectives with nurse attitudes
Survey research and statistical analysis to measure effectiveness
Qualitative feedback highlighting positive experiences and a focus on authentic patient understanding
Results show promising evidence for VR as a powerful tool to cultivate empathy in healthcare education.

📚 Forthcoming Publication The full findings will be published in:

Ethnoacting in VR: DIY Soft Skills Development

Ethnoacting in VR: DIY Soft Skills (Trade mark number: UK00004133854 dated 06/12/2024) is an innovative intervention inviting participants to engage in ethnoacting. This means they repeat real-life testimonies while listening to them through headphones, fully immersed in a tailored virtual reality (VR) environment. The VR setting is designed to replicate the world of the testimony, enhancing focus, the sense of presence and empathy. By applying modelling theories from psychology, this project explores how VR can help several social groups or professionals build essential soft skills that support their wellbeing. Tailored survey research assesses the impact and benefits for these groups. The core team includes expertise in acting (Evi Stamatiou, Principal Investigator), VR experimentation (Oluwatosin Sanni, Co-Investigator), and psychology (Volker Thoma, Co-Investigator). The project has already expanded into nursing (Georgina Cox, Co-Investigator) and youth development (in partnership with the Youth Empowerment Zone at Newham Council), with discussions setting the ground for applications on self-advocacy for people with disabilities (in partnership with the RIX Centre), and compassion in law professionals, reflecting its broad potential impact.

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