JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Sledding is a common recreational activity, but rarely considered to cause serious injuries, although it is dangerous. The need to develop sledding skills, especially among children, has become a major issue and could be achieved through virtual reality. A better understanding of the needs and requirements of teachers, parents, and potential users for accepting a virtual reality game for sledding safety education is required.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to: (1) characterize the acceptability of the virtual reality game for sledding safety education by parents, teachers, and potential users from the perspective of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2), (2) examine the relationships between technology acceptability and health locus of control, and (3) understand participants’ preferences and needs for the technology.

Methods:

Participants completed a series of questionnaires measuring: (1) demographic and general information, (2) acceptability of virtual reality sledding game for safety education (named VRodel), (3) perception of health locus of control, (4) preferences and needs for VRodel. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the explained variance and the main contributors to behavioral intention to use VRodel. A cluster analysis, based on the K-mean method, was then conducted to examine the acceptability groups. Correlations between acceptability constructs and health locus of control dimensions were computed. In addition, some questions were designed to measure preferences and needs for VRodel and participants were invited to express their degree of willingness of the proposed features.

Results:

A total of 122 participants (15 teachers, 10 females, Mage=41.7, SD=11.2 years; 43 parents or legal guardians, 23 females, Mage=46.6, SD=12.4 years; and 64 potential users of the technology, 18 females, Mage=28.8, SD=16.6 years) completed the survey. Findings reveal that hedonic motivation (β=.43, p<.001), price sensitivity (β=.28, p<.001), and habit (β=.36, p<.001) constructs were found to explain 65% of the variance in behavioral intention to use the virtual reality sledding game for safety education. Two acceptability clusters were identified (low and high), but no differences between the acceptability clusters emerged based on age, status, gender, or previous use of virtual reality. Furthermore, internal and powerful others health locus of control are positively related to the acceptability of the technology. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications have been highlighted.

Conclusions:

The UTAUT2 was successfully applied in the context of a virtual reality game for sledding safety education. As expected, relationships were shown between acceptability of the technology and the internal and powerful others health locus of control. Results demonstrated a rather good acceptability of the proof of concept of the VRodel game with interesting features to include such as realistic visual details and realistic interactions in the virtual environment.