Video-supported Interactive Learning for Movement Awareness : a learning model for the individual development of movement performance among nursing students

Abstract: Aim:  The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the development of a video-supported interactive learning model for movement awareness among nursing students.Methods:  Study I was a cross-sectional survey regarding prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) among nursing students. In the remaining three studies a learning model was developed and explored; II - the inter-personal interaction (qualitative content analysis), III - the students’ experiences of using the learning model (phenomenological hermeneutics), IV - the students’ learning processes (hermeneutic approach).Results: 143 of the 224 respondents in study I reported MSS during the previous 12 months and of those 91 reported impact on physical daily life activities. The odds ratio for reporting MSS study year 3 was 4.7 (95% CI: 2.1 – 10.7). Study II shows that the students’ movement awareness and self-analysis developed when encountering their own movement through video feedback. Studies III and IV show that the facilitator’s reflective and responsive approach appears to be essential in creating interaction and a permitting learning atmosphere. The students became emotionally and cognitively challenged and personally engaged, were motivated to change by discovering details in their movements and gained a greater understanding of the relationship between their own movements and current or risk for future MSS. They also experienced emotional, cognitive and bodily confusion, which was interpreted as a necessary step in the changing process.Conclusion: MSS among nursing students appears to be a problem and education regarding ergonomic movements and principles is suggested to be emphasized in the nursing curriculum. The video-supported learning model enabled encountering and discovering one’s own body and movement in different ways, which facilitated reflection and motivation for change, which was supported by the facilitator’s reflective approach. The learning model, which could contribute to multifactorial ergonomic interventions, could also support movement awareness and learning in practical learning situations within education and rehabilitation. Further research needs to study the model in different contexts and in relation to MSS prevention.