Re-thinking housing inspection and regulation: using 360 technology as a new approach in environmental health practice training

Front-line professions such as environmental health require practitioners to demonstratecompetence in practice-based skills typically gained only through on-the-job experience.However, practice opportunities have been more scarce, owing mainly to austerity but also tothe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, so necessitating novel approaches to teaching andlearning. 360 technology has recently emerged as a possible solution, but its potential for usein an environmental health setting, such as housing inspection and regulation, is virtuallyunknown.This study involved the use of a 360-degree camera to record a simulated walkthrough andmock inspection of a two-storey house. These ‘photospheres’ were demonstrated to underand postgraduate students, who were then surveyed online to explore their attitudes towardsthe use of this technology as a training method. Analysis of the questionnaire responsesrevealed four self-reported themes: experience of housing regulation and enforcementpractice and training; experiences of 360 technology in housing inspection practice andenforcement; attitudes towards using 360 technology versus traditional photograph and filmingmethods for experiential learning, training and practice purposes; and attitudes towards theapplication of 360 technology for experiential learning and training purposes in housinginspection enforcement and regulation.The results indicated that students found this a helpful and flexible tool, particularly valuing itsimmersive nature, both for initial training and continuing professional development (CPD) inhousing inspections and interventions. It has wider applicability to other frontline professionalpractices and requires further development to help shape new forms of training.