The Home Health Virtual Simulation Training System Facilitates Home Hazard Identification and Mitigation Strategies

Home healthcare workers (HHWs) are frequently exposed to occupational safety hazards when servicing clients in their homes. These hazards may take different forms, many of which could be broadly categorized as "Electric, Fire and Burn," "Environmental," or "Slip, Trip, and Lift" hazards. To address this issue, a home healthcare virtual simulation training system (HH-VSTS) was developed. Although prior studies have assessed the usability, usefulness, and desirability of the system, there was a need to determine if the knowledge gained through this training process generalizes to a real-world setting. Sixteen study participants completed one of the three training modules in the HH-VSTS consistent with the hazard categories listed above. Participants were then asked to walk through a one-bedroom apartment with 15 simulated hazards (5 electric/fire/burn, 5 environmental, and 5 slip/trip/lift) that are addressed in the HH-VSTS. Each participant served as a control for the two hazard categories for which they were not trained. Participants were asked what they would do about the hazards they identified in the simulated apartment during their walk through. Hazard mitigation strategies were categorized as successful, partially successful, or failed. Overall, participants identified 85% of the hazards that were included in the one module in which they trained versus identifying only 46% of the hazards in the two modules in which they were not trained. When they identified hazards on which they were trained, participants were more likely to voice successful mitigation strategies than for hazards upon which they had not been trained. Thus, the data indicate the HH-VSTS training facilitated hazard identification and hazard mitigation strategies in a non-virtual, simulated home setting, suggesting that this training approach should be effective for real home care settings.