Effects of spherical video-based virtual reality on nursing students’ learning performance in childbirth education training

The childbirth education training course aims to help nurses establish the basic ability to care for pregnant women. However, in traditional teaching, it is often difficult for learners to distinguish the meaning of different childbirth signs. While virtual reality (VR) may be connected in most people’s minds with videos designed for immersive entertainment, in fact its early purpose was for nursing education. Initial forms of Spherical Video-based Virtual Reality (SVVR) were used to prepare and train nursing students, pilots, and military personnel. In this paper, an exploratory study using social learning theory embedded in SVVR for childbirth education training is presented; moreover, the learning performances of nursing students who participated in SVVR classroom learning and those who learned with the traditional approach were compared. The experimental results show that, compared with the traditional instruction, the learning motivation and learning satisfaction of the students who learned with SVVR were better, showing the potential of this powerful medium for enhancing nursing students’ learning performance in the context of childbirth education.