PARTNERS
- Arbeiterkammer Niederösterreich
- St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences
- Caritas St. Pölten
- Arbeiter Samariterbund
- Interessengemeinschaft pflegender Angehöriger
ABSTRACT
immtaCARE is an innovative Extended Reality (XR) training tool designed specifically for professional carers and family caregivers. The platform offers realistic, hands-on training for home care through immersive simulations, allowing users to practise care techniques in a safe virtual environment. The use of gamification elements makes the training more engaging and enhances learner motivation. This modern learning method enables more efficient knowledge transfer and helps to streamline training time.
CHALLENGE
Carers and family members often face the challenge of learning complex care procedures quickly and efficiently. Traditional training methods offer limited flexibility and few opportunities for repetition. Moreover, there is often a lack of safe, realistic environments in which to practise demanding care scenarios. These barriers frequently lead to stress, overwhelm, and high staff turnover in the care sector.
SOLUTION
immtaCARE provides an immersive, flexible XR environment that brings care processes to life through virtual simulations. Users can train specific techniques in a range of realistic scenarios, without any real-world risk. Gamification and interactive elements support the learning process, boost motivation, and contribute to better learning outcomes. Continuous repetition and content adaptation allow for deep learning, reducing stress and increasing confidence among both professional and family caregivers. In doing so, immtaCARE makes a sustainable contribution to strengthening competencies and easing the burden on care providers.
RESEARCH
Findings show that participants who trained with VR rated the learning experience more positively overall. Enjoyment of the VR learning environment was significantly higher than in the control group. In the area of fall prevention, VR training also proved advantageous: participants reported gaining a better understanding of preventative measures and felt their learning progress was well supported by the immersive experience. While not all differences reached statistical significance, average scores showed a clear trend in favour of the VR group. Most notably, in a practical assessment within a simulated control room, the VR group performed significantly better, identifying fall hazards more reliably and achieving higher overall scores. These results highlight the potential of VR as an effective and practice-oriented learning method.
