Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42249408›Full record

ArticleBMC nursing2026

Effect of a short virtual reality training on first-attempt hand-disinfection performance in an OSCE: a randomized controlled trial.

Benjamin Roszipal, Martin Ernst, Alexander Hoffelner, Matthias Kalmring, Michael Wagner

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Benjamin RoszipalInstitute of Health Sciences, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Science, University of Applied Sciences, Sankt Pölten, Austria. benjamin.roszipal@ustp.at.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4276-9507
Martin ErnstCenter for Digital Health and Social Innovation, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Science, Sankt Pölten, Austria.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-1075-6285
Alexander HoffelnerDivision of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Matthias KalmringInstitute of Health Sciences, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Science, University of Applied Sciences, Sankt Pölten, Austria.
Michael WagnerDivision of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0982-2310

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundReliable hygienic hand-disinfection is essential for infection prevention and control. It remains unclear whether a short VR training module improves objectively assessed procedural performance compared with conventional instruction. This single-center, parallel-group randomized controlled trial examined first-opportunity hand-disinfection performance in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) after VR training versus a video control.

methodsIn 2025, first-year nursing students at a single Austrian University of Applied Sciences were randomized (1:1) to a 20-minute VR training module with contamination visualization feedback or a time- and headset-matched instructional video control without interactivity. Randomization used block allocation (blocks of six); instructions were standardized via audio playback. Three days later, students completed a routine five-station OSCE. Hygienic hand-disinfection was required at the beginning of each of five OSCE stations and was documented within routine station checklists. Hand-disinfection ratings from the five stations were extracted from routine OSCE checklists and coded (0 = incorrect, 1 = partially correct, 2 = correct). The preregistered primary endpoint was station 1 performance. The primary hypothesis was tested with adjusted proportional-odds regression, adjusting for age, gender, and prior hygiene-course grade as a baseline indicator of hygiene-related academic performance; all other analyses were exploratory.

resultsOf 128 randomized students (VR n = 65; control n = 63), all had available station 1 hand-disinfection scores, which constituted the primary outcome. One value was missing for the prior hygiene-course grade covariate, yielding N = 127 for adjusted models. At station 1, fully correct performance occurred in 52/65 (80.0%) in VR versus 15/63 (23.8%) in control. VR training was associated with markedly better first-opportunity performance (adjusted OR = 11.16, 95% CI [4.95, 25.14], p = 5.9 × 10

conclusionA short VR training module for hand-disinfection with contamination visualization was associated with better first-opportunity OSCE hand-disinfection performance compared with a headset-delivered instructional video control. This suggests that short, feedback-rich VR training may support immediate procedural readiness under standardized assessment conditions.

trial registrationThis study was preregistered within a larger longitudinal project and later registered as a stand-alone study in the Open Science Framework (OSF) (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/3B6SC). CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Indexed as

AssessmentHand hygieneInfection preventionNursingOSCEVirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID42249408
PMCPMC13459776

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.