Perception and knowledge of learners about the use of 3D technologies in manual therapy education – a qualitative study

BMC Medical Education

Research

Emma Fairs¹  Kesava Kovanur Sampath²  Esra Yaghi²  Patrea Andersen³  Ashokan Arumugam⁴ 

[1] Ara Institute of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand;Centre for Health and Social Practice, Waikato Institute of Technology, 51, Akoranga Road, Hamilton, New Zealand;Centre for Health and Social Practice, Waikato Institute of Technology, 51, Akoranga Road, Hamilton, New Zealand;School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, University of the Sunshine Coast, 4556, Sippy Dow, QLD, Australia;School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Science, CQ University, 4702, Queensland, Australia;Department of Physiotherapy, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O.Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates;Neuromusculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Group, RIMHS–Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O.Box: 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates;Sustainable Engineering Asset Management Research Group, RISE-Research Institute of Sciences and Engineering, University of Sharjah, P.O.Box: 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates;Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India;

关键词: Manual therapy;    Education;    Physiotherapy;    Osteopathy;    3D technology;    Virtual reality;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12909-023-04497-6

 received in 2022-11-15, accepted in 2023-07-05,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

ObjectivesManual therapy is a specific hands-on approach used and taught by various professions such as physiotherapy and osteopathy. The current paradigm of teaching manual therapy incorporates the traditional ‘See one, do one, teach one’ approach. However, this ‘teacher centred’ approach may not enable learners to develop the complex clinical skills of manual therapy. In this context, 3D technologies such as virtual reality may facilitate the teaching and learning of manual therapy. Hence the aim of the current study was to investigate the perception, knowledge and attitude of manual therapy learners about the use of 3D technologies in manual therapy education.MethodsAn exploratory qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews was used in this study. A total of ten manual therapy (5 physiotherapy and 5 osteopathic) students (mean age = 32; 80% female) enrolled in an appropriate physiotherapy or osteopathic degree provided by a New Zealand recognized institution (e.g., university or polytechnic) participated in this study. Data saturation was achieved after 10 interviews (average duration: 35 min) that provided thick data. A thematic analysis was used for data analysis.ResultsSix factors were identified which appeared to influence participants’ perception of role of technology in manual therapy education. These were (1) the sufficiency of current teaching method; (2) evolution as a learner (a novice to an expert); (3) need for objectivity; (4) tutor feedback; (5) knowledge and (6) barriers and enablers. These six factors influenced the participants’ perception about the role of 3D technologies in manual therapy education with participants evidently taking two distinct/polarized positions (‘no role’ (techstatic) versus a ‘complete role’ (techsavvy)).ConclusionAlthough 3D technology may not replace face-to-face teaching, it may be used to complement the traditional approach of learning/teaching to facilitate the learning of complex skills according to the perceptions of manual therapy learners in our study. The advantage of such an approach is an area of future research.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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