There is no conflict of interest.
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) safety training on the health and safety of roadside construction workplaces.
- The study used an interrupted time series design to compare the frequency of safe behaviors between the first and second exposure to the VR intervention, using eye movement data and simulated accidents collected during the VR safety training. The authors compared the outcomes of participants before and after they participated in the intervention.
- The study found a significant positive relationship between the VR intervention and how often participants who had an accident in the first VR session checked for hazards.
- This study receives a low evidence rating. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to Virtual Reality (VR) safety training; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Features of the Study
The study used an interrupted time series design to examine the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) safety training on health and safety in roadside construction sites. The authors used the VR intervention to monitor unsafe behaviors in road construction and maintenance operations. They tracked participants' attention to hazards by analyzing their eye movements in the VR setting and evaluated their ability to identify hazards and prevent accidents. The study compared the frequency of safety behaviors from the first to the second VR session, using eye movement data and simulated accident scenarios gathered during the VR trials. The second VR session took place one week after the first.
This study was organized by Texas A&M University and was offered to undergraduate and graduate students in construction and engineering. The study sample included 32 students from these programs. Among them, half had worked on a construction site before, 31% had under a year of work experience, 19% had 1 to 5 years of experience, and 90% had some experience with virtual reality (VR). The authors used statistical tests to compare the outcomes of participants before and after they participated in the intervention.
Findings
Health and safety
- The study found a significant positive relationship between the VR intervention and the rate of checking for hazards among participants that experienced an accident in the first demonstration. However, the study did not find a significant relationship for those who did not have an accident in the first session.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors compared the outcomes of participants measured before and after they participated in the VR safety training. For these types of designs, the authors must observe outcomes for multiple periods before the intervention to rule out the possibility that participants had increasing or decreasing trends in the outcomes examined before enrollment in the program. That is, if participants who had increasing safety behaviors tended to enroll in the program, we would anticipate further increases over time, even if they did not participate in the program. Without knowing the trends before program enrollment, we cannot rule this out. Therefore, the study receives a low causal evidence rating.
Causal Evidence Rating
Research Guidelines
Review Protocol: Living Systematic Annual Search and Review Protocol
Review Guidelines: Causal Evidence Guidelines