Virtual Horizons: Assessing the Knowledge, Attitude & Perception of XR Technology in Pakistani Healthcare Community in an Era of Artificial Intelligence
Description
Background and Objectives: The XR technology was established by combining elements of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, offering users the advantage of working in a virtual environment. The study aimed to evaluate medical professionals' and students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding using XR technology in Pakistan's healthcare system and identify its benefits, drawbacks, and implications for the system's future. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was executed by circulating a self-structured online questionnaire among the Medical Community across Major Cities of Pakistan using various social media platforms as available sampling. The sample size was calculated to be 385 using RAOSOFT. The Cronbach's α was calculated as 0.74. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS-25, and data description was done as frequency and percentage. Pearson correlation and regression analysis kept p value<0.05% significant. Results: Approximately 54.8% of 406 participants conveyed their familiarity with XR technologies. The majority of participants (83.8%) believed that using XR technology effectively enhanced medical education and patient care in Pakistan. Regarding clinical outcomes, 70.8% believed XR improved the efficiency of procedures and 52.8% agreed XR would lead to more device-dependent systems and eradicating human error (32.4%). Major barriers to XR integration included ethical and privacy issues (63.9%), lack of technological advancements in Pakistan (70%), and lack of ample knowledge and training of XR among health care professionals (45.8%). Conclusion: According to the study, the availability of XR technology has a favorable influence on the attitudes and opinions of healthcare professionals on its usage, and it has the potential to enhance medical education and healthcare in Pakistan. Hypotheses: 1. There is a significant relationship between the “Use of AI-based healthcare system” and “Increasing speed and accuracy of procedures”. 2. There exists a correlation between “Augmentation of diagnostic and surgical procedures” and “Addressing data security and ethical issues for implementing XR”.