Social Prescription with Virtual Reality

by Pia Behmuaras

February 15, 2023

What is Social Prescribing?

Social prescription is a method used by healthcare professionals to refer patients to non-medical sources of support, such as community groups, charities, or arts and leisure activities. These activities are normally conducted in community centers or social settings. The aim of social prescribing is to help address social, emotional, and practical needs that may be contributing to their health condition.

Why VR?

Virtual reality (VR) is conducive to social prescribing as a way to provide people with non-pharmacological interventions for a range of physical and mental health conditions. VR is a technology that supplements in-person or online activities, as well as a standalone intervention. One example of social prescribing in VR is recreational therapy, where patients get together with therapists virtually to play games and sports or to try out new hobbies.

VR transcends the limitations of social prescribing exercises in person because it removes the logistical hurdles of transportation, space, and required equipment. It also surpasses the capabilities of video calling by allowing participants to interact with each other and virtual objects in three dimensions. It offers simulations that would not be accessible in any other format due to the high cost, the physical and mental availability of patients, or even the rules of physics and nature.

How is Social Prescribing Used?

Overall, the use of VR for social prescribing can be a powerful tool for providing non-pharmacological interventions to patients and helping them to improve their physical and mental health. To use VR for social prescribing, healthcare professionals first assess the needs of their patients and determine which VR experiences would be most appropriate. Next, they refer the patients to the right VR program and follow up to monitor their progress and adjust the intervention as needed. This process is sometimes complemented by metrics provided in VR apps such as speaking time, gaze, and other biosensors if provided by the platform and accompanying hardware.

VR Social Prescribing for Mental Health

Luckily, social prescribing in VR can be an effective intervention for many different groups of people with a variety of mental health conditions. Some common examples are as follows:

Anxiety and stress: VR programs that use techniques such as exposure therapy or relaxation training can be helpful for people with anxiety and stress. For example, a VR program might involve mindfulness meditation workshops for multiple people to come together regularly in VR.

Social isolation: VR programs that offer social support and connection can be helpful for people who are isolated or lonely. For example, a VR program might connect patients with similar health conditions in virtual reality support groups, allowing them to share their experiences and offer each other support.

Other mental health conditions: VR programs that offer cognitive behavioral therapy or other mental health treatments can be helpful for people with mental health conditions. For example, a VR program might involve helping a patient with depression to identify and challenge negative thought patterns by utilizing behavioral therapy techniques like cognitive restructuring.

VR Social Prescribing for Physical Health

Chronic pain: VR programs that offer guided relaxation stretching or yoga exercises can be helpful for people with chronic pain. For example, VR programs that guide patients through a series of stretching exercises and relaxation techniques can help them manage their discomfort and learn from each other. When these sessions are conducted in groups, it can encourage participation and build a sense of community over time.

Physical rehabilitation: VR programs that involve virtual reality exercise and movement can be helpful for people undergoing physical rehabilitation. Especially because they can be done from home at the patient’s will. As an example, a VR program might involve recreational therapy activities like VR golfing or ping-pong to help them regain strength and mobility after an injury or surgery. This, in turn, can help them maintain their mental health as well.

These are just a few examples of how VR can be used for social prescribing. VR programs can also be tailored to the specific needs and goals of the patient, making them a highly flexible and effective tool for improving health outcomes.

Foretell Reality

Foretell Reality is a VR platform used to enhance social interaction by allowing professionals to conduct group or one-on-one sessions with their customers. Among our use cases are support groups, soft skills training, exposure therapy, and recreational activities like roasting marshmallows and playing the guitar by a campfire. We offer professionals customizable solutions that are most appropriate for their patients and use cases. Please visit our website to schedule a demo.

References:

Can digital technologies play a role in social prescribing models? (theiet.org)

VR Applications: 23 Industries using Virtual Reality (virtualspeech.com)

Loneliness and Social Isolation – HelpGuide.org

ChatGPT: Optimizing Language Models for Dialogue (openai.com)

Industry News, Other, Therapy and Support, VR-Related

Foretell Reality at AWE with Yale University

by Pia Behmuaras

December 13, 2022

Asher Marks, MD, Medical Director of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine, recently spoke at AWE Europe about his collaboration with Foretell Reality. Featured alongside CMO of the Glimpse Group, James Watson, Dr. Marks explained the value of VR in clinical treatments for pediatric cancer patients, a support group therapy in VR, and why the Yale School of Medicine chose to partner with Foretell Reality.

“We needed a company that was going to work with us to customize the experience for what we felt our patients needed, and what our patients said they needed.” Yale Oncology Department chose Foretell because it is a peer-to-peer secured application, has great spatial audio, is hardware agnostic, and is customizable, Dr. Marks says. In his talk, Dr. Marks also highlights how VR has a lack of distraction, includes body language, a shared space, and opportunities for self-expression through avatars. His study participants followed his sentiment, saying “I preferred VR to Zoom due to the fact that it felt more immersive as though I was leaving my house to attend group”. “I would prefer a VR group to a Zoom group, as this feels more immersive” another participant agrees.

“Participation went from 0% to 73% when we put our patients into social VR support groups,” said Dr Marks, highlighting the significant impact the VR-based cancer support groups have had. “It was extremely helpful to be able to vent to people who actually get it”, adds another cancer participant. The support groups aimed to improve psychosocial care for cancer patients aged 18-25. But using the phone was their grandparents’ technology, and using Zoom was their parents’ technology, Dr. Marks says. VR, however, was something new and exciting. As an added benefit, the groups allowed patients with Leukemia to interact without having the increased risk of infection spread. Some patients joined support group sessions from the hospital, and some others were homebound. “I think I greatly benefitted from the group and it made me feel less isolated”, says a patient after participating in the program.

After over 9 months of detailed planning, Dr. Marks and his team ran Phase 1 and 2 pilot clinical trials with assessment tools such as resilience surveys to measure results. The average participant age was 19, and the most common diagnosis of participants was Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. They had four patients per group, a professional social worker, and an invisible observer. The results were very encouraging: they found statistically significant improvements in resilience. “I was a little embarrassed to be myself, but this group provided me with the confidence to be myself.” adds one member.

Following this collaboration, The Glimpse Group is working to make the implementation, management, and measurement of XR technology in healthcare easy, and to promote more studies and partnerships. As XR becomes more mainstream, the cost of entry will become more affordable, Asher Marks adds. One of the major benefits of this study will be that it sets a precedent for other healthcare organizations, as mentioned in their Q&A.

VR-Related

VR for Spatial Navigation Training

by Pia Behmuaras

September 30, 2022

Capacities of VR

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated technology that creates immersive and interactive experiences transcending physical boundaries. Currently used by clinicians and therapists alike, VR can assist many types of physical and mental rehabilitation programs. This includes the clinical assessment, training, and feedback on performance for spatial navigation challenges.

VR helps scientists measure the strategies different age groups and primate species use for navigation. In evolutionary psychology, it is used to test spatial cognitive abilities such as learning, memory, and spatial navigation. Studies examine navigation through mazes and environments with various 3D and 2D landmarks and sometimes track neural activity.

Researchers use VR in one of the most challenging areas in neuroscience: the investigation of cortical mechanisms. It is technically challenging to perform neurophysiological recordings on people who move freely and navigate various scenarios throughout the day. So, VR offers control over landmarks, distractions, and spaces to assess attention and behavior.

Treatment and Rehabilitation

A study shows that VR can help neurologically assess and rehabilitate conditions such as spatial disorientation. Spatial disorientation is a severe case of difficulty navigating all types of environments, new or routine, commonly caused by brain damage. A verbally-guided VR-based navigation training program improved route finding for 11 participants with spatial disorientation.

VR training could also help treat landmark agnosia, a condition where patients cannot locate landmarks in the real world, impairing their navigation. Trials were even successful with more common conditions such as amnesia. These simulations have shown to have ecological validity, as virtual representations of real-life environments have successfully trained individuals to navigate real-life environments.

One key benefit to spatial navigation training is protecting the hippocampus against age-related changes during early and late adulthood. With VR, training can be done from anywhere in the world and with fewer physical barriers to accessibility. Since there are over 171 million VR users worldwide, implementing spatial navigation training in VR games could also achieve widespread preventative success.

Foretell Reality

Foretell Reality is an inclusive social VR platform where up to 15 active users can meet for live therapy and support groups. In the app, users can walk or teleport around open spaces, exploring private and public environments. Some spaces also provide navigation simulations such as mazes that allow for real-time spatial navigation training with professionals.

References:

Virtual reality in neurologic rehabilitation of spatial disorientation – PMC (nih.gov)

VR Training with Spatial Knowledge and Navigation (1library.net)

Spatial navigation training protects the hippocampus against age-related changes during early and late adulthood – ScienceDirect

Virtual reality in neurologic rehabilitation of spatial disorientation – PMC (nih.gov)

Landmark Agnosia: Evaluating the Definition of Landmark-based Navigation Impairment | Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology | Oxford Academic (oup.com)

The Hippocampus in the Limbic System (thoughtco.com)

23 Amazing Virtual Reality Statistics [2022]: The Future Of VR + AR – Zippia

Industry News, Other, VR-Related

Virtual Reality as an Alternative to Anesthesia and Painkillers

by Michele Oberly

July 23, 2022

Hospitals across the UK are embracing virtual reality (VR) as a tool for pain distraction during surgery and are finding that the benefits extend even beyond minimizing pain.

A recent article published in The Irish News takes an in depth look at the impact VR is making for patient populations. By using VR, the elderly are sometimes able to avoid anesthesia, which can result in serious side effects for older patients, including postoperative cognitive dysfunction. VR is also being used for children, as the sensory experience helps anxious and fidgety young patients to sit still during complicated procedures. And VR’s benefits extend to all patients as it has been shown to reduce anxiety before, during, and after procedures. An additional important use is the treatment of chronic pain as an alternative to addictive painkillers, which can result in long-term substance abuse disorder. The article cites a 2020 review from Health Technology Wales, which concludes that VR is actually more effective at reducing pain during and immediately after procedures than standard care, such as painkillers.

Beyond improved patient care, hospitals experience the added benefit of reducing overall costs. Anesthesia itself is expensive, and it often requires an overnight stay. Many patients (not just the elderly) are adversely impacted by anesthesia and experience symptoms like vomiting and chills, which extends their hospital stay.

So why are the VR simulations, from a roller coaster ride to a wildlife safari, so effective? According to Jordan Tsigarides at the University of East Anglia, “VR is immersive. It floods the brain with audio-visual signals, engaging the senses and diverting the brain’s attention from processing pain signals…by putting someone in a situation outside of their normal environment, VR can be relaxing. And if you add in an engaging task such as a game, then it’s not hard to grab their full attention.”

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