Newborn Bathing Virtual Reality: An Immersive Approach to Neonatal Hygiene Education
Newborn Bathing VR is an educational virtual reality game developed to teach and evaluate the newborn bathing procedure in a safe, immersive, and risk-free environment. The system simulates real objects and procedures, allowing users to perform each practical step while receiving automatic feedback based on their actions. The application incorporates gamification elements, which contribute to engagement and deliberate practice. The project was developed in collaboration between the Institute of Computing and the Institute of Humanities and Health at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, ensuring technical accuracy, as well as content and visual validation. The evaluation involved 11 participants and employed objective metrics obtained through automated data collection, as well as subjective data gathered through a user experience questionnaire and open-ended questions. The results indicated good overall acceptance, sufficient ease of use for task completion, and a high level of engagement during the activity. Participants also reported a positive perception of the educational potential of virtual reality, highlighting its practical nature and the realistic simulation of procedures. Overall, the results suggest that Newborn Bathing VR is a promising tool for teaching neonatal care, offering an immersive experience capable of complementing traditional educational methods and supporting the training of students and caregivers.