Evaluation of Group Genetic Counseling Sessions via a Metaverse-based Application

BACKGROUND: Group genetic counseling has been implemented to meet growing demand. A metaverse platform, in which a society is built and activities are carried out in the virtual world, has not yet been implemented in group genetic counseling. We investigated whether a metaverse platform could be an alternative service-delivery model for group genetic counseling. METHODS: Participants (N=131) were divided into three groups patient (N=45), family (N= 43), and interested (N=43) groups. Participants entered the metaverse through a link sent to their mobile phones and attended a 20-min group genetic counseling session reviewing hereditary breast cancer, followed by a 10-min question-and-answer period. RESULTS: The overall median score of post-educational knowledge (9.0, range 8.0–10.0) significantly increased compared to that of pre-educational knowledge (6.0, range 3.0–8.0) (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the pre- and post-educational knowledge scores among the three groups (P>0.05). Most participants (95%) responded that their understanding of hereditary breast cancer had increased after the group genetic counseling session and that their satisfaction was high. The main advantage noted with metaverse was no limit of space and location while attending the session (97%), and the main disadvantage was a possibility of missing content due to an unstable internet connection (67%). CONCLUSIONS: The metaverse platform would be acceptable as an alternative group genetic counseling service. More studies are needed to investigate how, for whom, and in what circumstances metaverse can be effectively utilized.