2022 Volume 17 Issue suppul2 Pages 2-5
Objective: The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an auscultation learning system we developed.
Method: The educational material evaluated in this study was a web-based learning system using a stethoscope equipped with earphones with Bluetooth® function and a tablet device. The most distinctive feature of the learning material was that the system successfully simulates sounds of abnormality in the body of healthy student participants by replicating sounds inside the human body from various combinations of a maximum of three types of sounds. A total of ten students tested the learning material, and the validity analysis of the replicated sounds and the system evaluation using the web usability evaluation scale was conducted in this study.
Results: All participants could hear the normal bronchial sound, and more than 80% of participants could hear continuous high- and low-pitched wheezes in the breathing sound auscultation tests. However, the rate of those who could correctly hear the interrupted wheezes remained at 20 to 50%. In the tests using the combination of heart and breathing sounds, 70 to 80% of participants could correctly measure the heart rate. In contrast, the percentage of those who could precisely identify breathing and wheezing sounds remained at 20 to 40%. Results of web usability evaluation were high in the points of "user-friendly operation" and "simple system structure" but low in the points of "benefit of the system" and "user-friendly system appearance."
Conclusion: Though several features need improvement, the results exhibited well-balanced evaluations of relevant factors, suggesting that the system was an effective web-based educational material.
