The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to test whether an AI-assisted design thinking workshop can improve empathetic communication in undergraduate nursing students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the workshop improve students' empathy, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and patient-centred care attitudes? How do students experience the design thinking and AI-supported learning activities? Researchers will compare the intervention group with a wait-list control group to see whether the workshop leads to better outcomes. Participants will: complete a baseline questionnaire before the workshop; be randomly assigned to receive the workshop now or later; attend two tutorials in the intervention group, including design thinking activities and AI-simulated clinical scenarios; complete a follow-up questionnaire after the workshop; and, for some participants, join a short interview about their learning experience.
The study uses a mixed-methods, wait-list randomized controlled trial to evaluate an AI-assisted design thinking workshop for undergraduate nursing students. First, an AI chatbot is co-designed in Phase 1 with 8 nursing faculty members and 8-10 students through a 3-hour workshop, followed by 4-6 weeks of chatbot development and validation. The workshop uses design thinking activities including empathy mapping, patient journey mapping, "How Might We" framing, prototyping, and feedback gathering to define learning needs and chatbot functions. The IT team then builds the chatbot using the workshop outputs, including scenario scripts, response frameworks, assessment criteria, and bilingual English/Cantonese requirements. In Phase 2, 80 eligible Year 2 nursing students are randomly assigned to an intervention group or a wait-list control group. All participants complete baseline and post-intervention questionnaires measuring empathy, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and patient-centred care attitudes. The intervention group receives two 90-minute tutorials: one on design thinking fundamentals and one on AI-simulated clinical scenarios. During the second tutorial, students rotate through different scenarios while tutors provide small-group guidance. Participants in the intervention group may also take part in semi-structured interviews to describe their experiences. Quantitative data will be summarized descriptively, and qualitative data from interviews, open-ended responses, and workshop observations will be analyzed using content analysis.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
80
This intervention is distinct because it combines design thinking with a conversational AI chatbot to teach empathy in undergraduate nursing education. Rather than using lectures or standard simulation alone, it places students in an active, human-centred learning process that begins with empathy mapping and patient journey mapping, then moves to ideation, prototyping, and reflection. The chatbot provides realistic, bilingual clinical communication scenarios and immediate tailored feedback, including difficult situations such as breaking bad news, managing non-compliance, and responding to emotional or culturally complex encounters. The workshop is also developed through co-design with faculty and students, making the intervention closely aligned with actual learning needs and course context. In addition, the study uses a wait-list randomized controlled design, allowing comparison with usual learning while ensuring all students can eventually receive the workshop.
The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Empathy
Empathy will be measured with the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Student Version (JSE-HPS) which yields total scores ranging from 20 to 140; higher scores indicate greater empathy.
Time frame: The baseline assessment will be completed one week before the workshop. The post-intervention assessment will be completed within one week after the second tutorial at 12 weeks from enrollment.
Creativity, collaboration, problem-solving
Creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving will be measured with the Student Engagement Questionnaire (SEQ). Each domain comprises two items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The mean score for each domain will range from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating greater perceived creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving ability.
Time frame: The baseline assessment will be completed one week before the workshop. The post-intervention assessment will be completed within one week after the second tutorial at 12 weeks from enrollment.
Patient-centred care attitudes
Patient-centred care attitudes will be measured using the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), an 18-item instrument comprising the sharing and caring subscales. Items are rated on a 6-point Likert scale, and the overall score will be calculated as the mean of all item scores, ranging from 1 to 6. Higher scores indicate more patient-centred care attitudes.
Time frame: The baseline assessment will be completed one week before the workshop. The post-intervention assessment will be completed within one week after the second tutorial at 12 weeks from enrollment. .
Experiences and views on the workshop
Evaluate by semi-structured interviews on the Intervention group
Time frame: After intervention, at 12 weeks from enrollment.
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