Virtual reality for public health: a study on a VR intervention to enhance occupational injury prevention.

This article focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of a Virtual Reality Intervention for Safety Education (VRISE) designed to improve tractor safety among high school students involved in agriculture. Developed by a multidisciplinary team, VRISE immerses users in a virtual environment simulating tractor operation hazards to enhance perceived threat of tractor rollover accidents, which mediates increased behavioral intentions to operate tractors safely and to install rollover protective structures (ROPS). The study found that VRISE users reported higher perceived threat compared to no-treatment controls, and that the immersive experience contributed to these effects, although no significant difference was observed between VR headset and 2D screen conditions. These findings suggest VR interventions can be a cost-effective and engaging tool for occupational safety education in agriculture, particularly for young workers, while highlighting the need for further research under controlled conditions and across diverse populations.