Research in Pediatric EducationA Virtual Reality Curriculum for Pediatric Residents Decreases Rates of Influenza Vaccine Refusal
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Setting and Study Population
This educational study was conducted at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) pediatric primary care center (PPCC). The PPCC is a large academic clinic that serves as the continuity site for approximately 80 pediatric residents. Curriculum participants included postgraduate level (PL) 2 and PL3 categorical pediatric residents. Resident consent was obtained before enrollment. Residents were assigned to the intervention group (n = 24) or the control group (n = 21) on the basis
Demographics
The VR curriculum was implemented in November 2015. All eligible residents agreed to participate (n = 45). There were no differences in baseline demographic characteristics between the control and intervention groups (Table).
Influenza Vaccine Refusal Rates
During the postcurriculum period, there were 486 clinical encounters of patients aged 6 to 59 months who were eligible for influenza vaccination. Control group residents saw 235 of these patients, and intervention group residents saw 253 patients. The EMR alert identified
Discussion
In this pilot educational study, residents who underwent the VR curriculum to teach communication skills related to influenza vaccine hesitancy had decreased rates of vaccine refusal in the postcurriculum period compared to residents in the control group. These findings are important because influenza vaccination represents an important public health goal.
This is not the first curriculum to target vaccine hesitancy. A prior vaccine hesitancy curriculum demonstrated improved resident knowledge
Acknowledgments
Supported in part by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA D55HP23195; PI: Klein). Funders played no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the article.
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Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.