NCT07403526

Transforming Global Surgery Capacity and Capability Through Affordable Virtual Reality

Completed NA Last updated 11 February 2026

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Deliberate Virtual Reality (VR) Training in Hysterectomy (MeSH nr: E04.950.300.399) in 33 participants. Completed in 31 December 2021.

Timeline

1 September 2021

Primary endpoint
31 December 2021

31 December 2021

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Southern Methodist University
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	crossover
Masking	single
Primary purpose	health services research
Enrollment	33
Start date	1 September 2021
Primary completion	31 December 2021
Estimated completion	31 December 2021
Sites	1 location across Zambia

Drugs / interventions tested

• Deliberate Virtual Reality (VR) Training
• Standard Clinical Training

Conditions studied

• Hysterectomy (MeSH nr: E04.950.300.399) — all drugs for Hysterectomy (MeSH nr: E04.950.300.399) →

Sponsor

Southern Methodist University

Who can join

Eligibility, any sex, with Hysterectomy (MeSH nr: E04.950.300.399). Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

The goal of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate whether Deliberate Virtual Reality (VR) training can improve surgical skills, knowledge, and confidence in performing postpartum hysterectomy among junior-level Zambian physicians in training.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Can VR-based surgical training improve technical surgical skills in a real-world setting?
2. Does Deliberate VR training enhance knowledge retention and confidence compared to standard clinical training?

Study Design: Researchers randomly assigned participants to either:

1 Deliberate VR Training (intervention group): A 9-day VR-based surgical training program 2. Standard Training (control group): Conventional clinical education

Participants underwent assessments of surgical skills, knowledge, and confidence before and after training using objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) and knowledge exams.

Key Findings:

1. The Deliberate VR group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in surgical knowledge, confidence, and OSATS scores compared to the standard training group.
2. VR training showed strong skill transfer to real-world surgical performance, suggesting that affordable and scalable VR training can help bridge surgical workforce gaps in resource-constrained settings.

This study highlights VR-based training as a potential scalable solution to strengthen surgical capacity in maternal health, addressing workforce shortages and improving equitable access to essential surgical care.

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial. Completed trials usually publish results within 12-18 months.