Employing augmented reality for the provision of stroke education

Stroke poses a concern in modern health care as it constitutes 6.8% of the total burden of disease yet remains preventable in many cases. As stroke affects many Australians, it may be beneficial to provide accessible and understandable information relating to stroke. Technologies such as augmented reality
(AR) can allow people to interact with virtual models of the human body, showing great promise in improving both students, and the community’s understanding of health1,2. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of AR in contrast with a pamphlet as a learning tool. 59 participants were randomised into two groups, using either AR or a printed pamphlet to learn identical content relating to stroke physiology and anatomy. Participants answered a pre-test multiple choice questionnaire to evaluate knowledge prior to the intervention. A Likert-scale questionnaire was used to determine participant perceptions post-learning intervention, followed by another multiple-choice post-test. Pre- and post-test scores suggested that participants learned in both interventions, although there were no significance differences between the interventions themselves. Better learning experiences were reported when using AR, with participants perceiving that AR allowed them to better understand the physiology of stroke and that AR was a better learning tool. Overall, although AR was preferred over pamphlets as a learning tool, both modes were equally effective for participant learning and stroke education.