WHO's PPE augmented reality app
The WHO Academy has launched its first augmented reality course for health workers on the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE). This short course is available on the Academy’s mobile learning app for all health workers globally.
The course is free and can be taken from a smartphone anywhere, anytime. It takes about 20 mins to complete and is available in 7 languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
What is the WHO Academy’s new PPE course?
Using augmented reality technology, the WHO Academy is now offering a free 20-minute course for health workers that demonstrates the proper techniques and sequence to put on and remove their personal protective equipment (PPE) equipment, which are critical to keeping them safe. The course is available via the Academy’s mobile learning app, which is available for download from both the Google Play and Apple App stores.
What does Augmented Reality (AR) mean?
Augmented reality is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s real-world view. In the case of this PPE course, learners can project the 3D animated nurse in the room or space where they are with their smartphone. Viewing the experience on their smartphone screens, they can explore what the nurse is doing by moving 360 degrees around him.
Why use Augmented Reality for this purpose?
While there are already a number of PPE courses online, the augmented reality technology used by the WHO Academy takes the learning experience to a new, more engaging and interactive level, which studies have shown can help individuals learn faster and retain more of what they have learned.
How do I access the course?
You will need a smartphone that has access to the internet. As a first step, you will have to download the WHO Academy App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Then open the app and you will see a prompt directing you straight to the course. You will need internet access to use the mobile application and download the course.
What device do I need in order to take the course?
The course can run on a large number of smartphones and requires an internet connection. Any smartphone can run the interactive video version of the course. An internet connection is required to download this version of the course, but once it is downloaded, it can run offline.
The augmented reality version requires:
Compatible Apple devices: iPhone 6s upwards running at least iOS 11
Compatible Android devices: A large number can run AR experiences - the minimum operating system required is Android 8.1 (Oreo)
What languages is the course available in?
The course is available in 7 languages: English, French, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese (Brazil).
Who is this toolkit for and how can it be used?
The toolkit is designed for anyone who wants to help spread the word about this course as a way of helping health workers stay safe. Within the downloadable resources, you’ll find suggested messaging for the general public as well as more targeted messaging for those who have a large number of health workers in their audience (e.g. health worker associations).
Is this course helpful if I already use PPE?
Yes. The course is designed to be an immersive learning experience to either teach PPE sequencing from scratch or to enable health workers to test and improve their own knowledge regarding the proper use of PPE.
A 2019 study looking at PPE removal practices amongst a group of health workers, showed that 90% of observed removals were done incorrectly. It’s easy to make a mistake when putting on or taking off PPE, so we encourage all health workers and students to take this course.