Abstract:

According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), every year in the European Union there are 5,720 fatal work-related accidents and millions of people are injured or their health gets seriously harmed at their workplace. In the specific case of the health care sector about 40% of health care workers suffer an accident at work (Secretaría de Salud Laboral y Medio Ambiente, 2008). In this sense, an effective training program can reduce the number of injuries and deaths, property damage, legal liability, illnesses, workers’ compensation claims, and missed time from work. Information and Communication Technologies have shown their utility in the application of education programs in the health field: an e-learning program through a website (e.g., Avramescu et al., 2012) and serious games (e.g. Nicolaidou et al., 2012;) in medicine training; a website (e.g., Erakpoweri, 2013) in medical diagnoses; and, also, a web based program has been used 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 of 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.

The main objective of the ANGELS project (Augmented Reality Network Generating Learning on Safety) is to test the utility of Augmented Reality (AR) to train in prevention of risks at work in the health care sector. 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, France, the Czech Republic, and Spain (Quero et al., 2012).

After conducting a needs analysis in order to obtain a general framework of the priority risks in safety at work within the health context in Spain (Pérez-Ara, Quero, Navarro, Botella & Baños, 2013), a pilot study with 5 participants was carried out (Quero et al., 2013). Preliminary results about the application of the ANGELS System in the health care sector showed a good opinion of the participants as well as favorable usability of the system. However, some improvements of the system were recommended. After the development of the new version of the ANGELS System, a large scale trial is planned to test the efficacy and utility of the training program supported by ANGELS.

This paper presents preliminary results obtained in the large scale trial that will be carried out in Spain. The sample will be composed by nurses, auxiliary nurses, and students working at different hospitals at the Valencian region. The assessment protocol will be composed by different instruments designed to assess the learning outcomes, the usability of the ANGELS System, satisfaction scales for users and tutors, as well as the preferences about the training (traditional versus the ANGELS System). The work is still in progress.

The ANGELS system could have important advantages such as the innovation of learning practice thanks to an original and interactive methodology. A system like ANGELS could increase the workers awareness of health and safety issues, and as the training is conducted while performing the tasks, it will make education to be fully accessible at their work environment.

Keywords:

European Project, Augemented Reality, learning, safety at work, health care sector.