Abstract:

In the health care sector, workers have to deal with a wide range of activities and environments that put them at risk of occupational disease or work-related accidents. In this sense, around 40% of health care workers suffer an accident at work (Secretaría de Salud Laboral y Medio Ambiente, 2008). Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have shown their utility in the application of education programs in medicine training (e.g., Avramescu et al., 2012; Nicolaidou et al., 2012;), medical diagnoses (e.g., Erakpoweri, 2013) and, also at safety at work in the health care sector (e.g., Miller, Yardley, Little & PRIMIT team, 2012; Yardley, Miller, Schlotz & Little, 2011). Regarding the use of Augmented Reality (AR), some examples about its application can be found in medicine education (e.g., Johnson & Sun, 2013; von Jan, Noll, Behrends & Albrecht, 2012). However, in the specific case of safety at work training, no studies have been found so far.

In order to test the utility of this tool, the project ANGELS (Augmented Reality Network Generating Learning on Safety) has emerged. It is an European Project (Lifelong Learning Program: 518015-LLP-1-2011-1-IT-LEONARDO-LMP) funded by the European Commission and formed by a Consortium of public and private organizations in Italy ((Fondazione PTV Policlinico Tor Vergata, Entropy KN (ENT) e Inglobe Technologies), France (Hopital Broca), the Czech Republic (National Centre of Nursing and Other Health Professions), and Spain (Universidad Jaume I) with the aim of creating a training system based on Augmented Reality about safety and prevention within work environments in the health sector (Quero et al., 2012). After the analysis of the different risks and populations involved in this area, as well as the analysis of the availability of training programs on safety at work (Pérez-Ara, Quero, Navarro, Botella & Baños, 2013), the following step of the Project is to test the usability of the ANGELS system and participants’ learning and opinion about the AR training program. To do that, two studies are planned: first, a pilot study and then a larger scale trial.

This paper presents the description of the ANGELS System as well as the preliminary results about the usability perceived by participants in the pilot study carried out in Spain. The sample was composed of 5 nurse; 4 women and 1 man (nurses’ supervisor). All of them belonged to the Internal Medicine Department at La Magdalena Hospital in Castellón (Spain). The System Usability Scale (SUS: Brooke, 1986) was used to asses the main features of the system functioning (e.g., “I think that I would like to use this system frequently”; “I thought the system was easy to use”). It is a 10-item questionnaire whose total score ranges from 0 to 100 (where 0-60= “no acceptable usability” and 61-100 = “acceptable usability). Results obtained showed an acceptable usability for the ANGELS system with a mean score of 67 (SD = 3.26). Although preliminary data about the first version of the ANGELS System revealed an acceptable usability, some modifications aiming to improve its usability would be desirable before the next large scale trial is conducted.

Keywords:

Augmented Reality, European Project, learning program, safety at work, health sector.