An interventional study of virtual reality simulation in Episiotomy and Virtual Simulation, sponsored by Sakarya University. Completed at 1 site in Turkey. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-01-16.
Sponsored by Sakarya University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
The correct application and repair of episiotomy, which is a frequently used intervention in labor, is important for the psychological and physiological health of the mother after birth. Therefore, it is very important to provide students with the skill of performing episiotomy with the most effective education methods, to reduce their anxiety in this regard and to increase their self-efficacy. Trying to teach suture techniques on sponge, chicken, calf tongue or a soft material is quite limited when the integrity of episiotomy education is considered. Developments in simulation techniques, especially virtual reality glasses that help users experience sensory information such as visual, auditory and movement with real-like experiences, reveal the importance of using technology in health education. Since it does not require additional materials such as calf tongue, sponge, needle holder, etc., it is important for midwifery education to be economical. In addition, the fact that the application can be repeated many times without harming the person affects the anxiety and self-efficacy levels of students before real clinical experience. Within the scope of the study, in order to evaluate the effect of using virtual reality in teaching episiotomy application and repair on students' episiotomy self-efficacy and anxiety levels, midwifery students taking the Normal Birth and Postpartum period course will be divided into three groups during the episiotomy teaching application; one group will practice on calf tongue, one group will practice only with virtual reality, and one group will practice using both. The study data will be collected through the Student Identification Form, State Anxiety Inventory, and Episiotomy Self-Efficacy Scale. The analysis of the data obtained from the research will be done with the SPSS program. It is thought that the study will make a significant contribution to the literature in terms of evaluating the effect of virtual reality glasses on episiotomy teaching.
Episiotomy, which is among the duties of midwives, is an important surgical incision made in the vagina and perineum to widen the vaginal opening during birth (Hersh \& Emeis, 2020). In many countries, especially those classified as low or middle income; the majority of women who give birth vaginally undergo routine episiotomy (Silf et al. 2015). Although the use of routine episiotomy is no longer recommended, a midwife or obstetrician must perform the procedure expertly (Güler et al. 2018). Correct application and repair of episiotomy is important for the psychological and physiological health of the mother after birth. If this process is not managed correctly, it can reduce the quality of life of women (Güler et al. 2018, Demir Kaymak et al., 2024). For this reason, it is very important to provide students with the skill of performing episiotomy with the most effective training methods and to increase their self-efficacy in this regard (Bick et al., 2010; Güler et al. 2018). Virtual reality is a simulation technology that allows people to feel like they are in a real world through technological tools using three-dimensional images made in a computer environment, and allows them to interact with objects in the environment by including visual screens and sounds (Bani Mohammadi and Ahmad, 2019). Virtual reality can be defined as a digital simulation created by a computer that allows users to explore a virtual environment and interact with a virtual environment, providing a sense of reality with three-dimensional (3D) images (Bevilacqua et al., 2019). The computer-generated environment helps users experience sensory information such as visual, auditory and movement with experiences close to reality. An important feature of all virtual reality applications is interaction. Virtual environments are created and allow the user to interact not only with the virtual environment, but also with virtual objects in the environment (Bevilacqua et al., 2019; Chirico et al., 2016). Virtual reality, which places people in a central role by using motor skills, decision-making skills, and communication skills with virtual procedures in various clinical environments, is also used as a teaching strategy today (Berman, Durning, Fischer, Huwendiek, \& Triola, 2016; Padilha, Machado, Ribeiro, Ramos, \& Costa, 2019). Virtual reality simulators are preferred because they increase knowledge retention, clinical reasoning, increased learning satisfaction, and improved motor control, decision-making, and communication skills of individuals and increased self-efficacy (Nassar, Al-Manaseer, Knowlton, \& Tuma, 2021; Padilha et al., 2019). Innovations in simulation technologies necessitate the integration of technological developments into health education (Berman et al., 2016). In parallel, the use of high-quality simulators in education strengthens the acquisition of knowledge and skills in students' practices and increases the quality of education (Berman et al., 2016; Padilha et al., 2019).
Sakarya University is the lead sponsor of 178 studies on the registry; 48 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Control group (application with calf tongue): In Sakarya University Midwifery Department, while teaching episiotomy application within the scope of Normal birth and postpartum period course, laboratory application is routinely performed on calf tongue. Therefore, the application group to be performed on calf tongue was accepted as the control group. The instructor will first provide theoretical training on episiotomy to the group coming to the laboratory. The theoretical training period will consist of 50 minutes. The content of the training will include the importance of episiotomy, risks, indications, contraindications, episiotomy application time, materials used, episiotomy types, episiotomy repair and time, suture techniques and midwifery care in episiotomy. While explaining suture techniques within the scope of this course, videos about suture techniques on social media platforms will be watched by students. Immediately after the training, episiotomy repair (suture techniques) ap
The instructor will first provide theoretical training to the group coming to the laboratory on episiotomy. The theoretical training will consist of 50 minutes. The content of the training will include the importance of episiotomy, risks, indications, contraindications, episiotomy application time, materials used, episiotomy types, episiotomy repair and time, suture techniques and midwifery care in episiotomy. While explaining suture techniques within the scope of this course, videos on suture techniques on social media platforms will be watched by the students. Immediately after the training, the episiotomy repair (suture techniques) application will be started. Students will be taken to the laboratory one by one. The student who is taken to the application will be put on the Meta Quest 3 virtual reality glasses and the episiotomy application will be started via the computer integrated with the glasses. The episiotomy application will start with the image of a woman who has given bir
Other: virtual reality simulation
Students in this group will first receive theoretical training as in other groups. The theoretical training will consist of 50 minutes. The content of the training will include the importance of episiotomy, risks, indications, contraindications, episiotomy application time, materials used, episiotomy types, episiotomy repair and time, suture techniques and midwifery care in episiotomy. While suture techniques are explained in this course, videos about suture techniques on social media platforms will be watched by students. Immediately after the training, an application will be made in a virtual reality simulation for episiotomy repair, and then the application will be repeated on the calf tongue.
Other: virtual reality simulation
The student will be put on the Meta Quest 3 virtual reality glasses and the episiotomy application will be started via the computer integrated with the glasses. The episiotomy application will start with the image of a woman who has given birth in the delivery room on the delivery table. The student is expected to select the appropriate materials and complete the episiotomy repair of the woman with the correct steps.
State Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
The State Anxiety Inventory consists of 20 items and requires the individual to answer how he or she feels at a certain moment and under certain conditions, taking into account his feelings about the situation he is in. The scale is likert type and is a four-degree scale ranging from "Not at all" to "Totally". The maximum score that can be obtained from the scale is 80, and the minimum score is 20. High scores indicate high anxiety, low scores indicate low anxiety.
Time frame: 1 hours
Episiotomy Self-Efficacy Scale
The scale developed by the researchers consists of 17 items. The scale is a 5-point Likert type and consists of 4 sub-dimensions. These sub-dimensions are cognitive (5 items), affective (5 items), motivation (3 items) and psychomotor (4 items). The Cronbach Alpha coefficient of this scale developed by the authors is 0.955.
Time frame: 1 hours
Plan to share: No
This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Sakarya University