Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2025
Virtual Reality Experiments with Physiological Measures
Published on: August 29, 2018
Training the public health emergency response workforce: a mixed-methods approach to evaluating the virtual reality
Dante Bugli1, Leah Dick2, Kaitlin C Wingate2
1Division of Global Health Protection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA KPT7@cdc.gov.
Objectives:
To produce and evaluate a novel virtual reality (VR) training for public health emergency responders.
Design:
Following a VR training designed to test key public health emergency responder competencies, a prospective cohort of participants completed surveys rating self-assessed skill levels and perceptions of training methods.
Setting:
The VR training sessions were administered in a quiet room at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia.
Participants:
All participants volunteered from a list of CDC emergency international surge responders.
Outcome Measures:
Perceived impact of the training on responder skills was self-reported via a Likert 5-point scale questionnaire. Assessments were modelled according to the Expanded Technology Acceptance Model measuring participant perceived usefulness of and intention to use the new technology. Inductive coding of qualitative feedback resulted in the identification of central themes.
Results:
From November 2019 to January 2020, 61 participants were enrolled. Most (98%) participants self-rated above neutral for all skills (mean 4.3; range 1.21-5.00). Regression modelling showed that the perceived ease of use of the VR and ability to produce demonstrable results as likely drivers of further use. Participants agreed that others would benefit from the training (97%), it was representative of actual response scenarios (72%) and they would use lessons learnt in the field (71%). Open-response feedback highlighted feeling being immersed in the training and its utility for public health responders.
Conclusions:
At a time when a trained emergency public health workforce is a critical need, VR may be an option for addressing this gap. Participants' impressions and feedback, in the setting of their high skill level and experience, highlighted the utility and benefit of using VR to deliver training. Further research is needed to determine skill acquisition through VR training among a pool of future responders with limited to no response experience.
