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To promote health equity, it is crucial to educate the next generation of healthcare workers about disparities early on during their education. We developed a virtual research program at a medical school in the United States of America with the goal of increasing the awareness of youth about the complexities of health inequities. The program was based on a near-peer mentorship where high school students were coached by medical student mentors under the oversight of an experienced faculty mentor. We evaluated the participants' perspectives about the program using a mixed quantitative and qualitative method. Upon completion of the program, the participants were asked to complete a survey and rate their self-perceived knowledge, efficacy skills and interest in addressing health disparities in the future. Additionally, the participants' perspectives about the program were gathered using open-ended questions and analyzed using thematic analysis. Our preliminary findings indicate that the program enhanced the participants' knowledge about the complexities of health disparities and their motivation to address them in the future. The near-peer mentorship model was valuable in success of the program. The implications to enhance intrinsic and extrinsic instincts through partnerships among educational settings, underserved communities, policy makers and healthcare agencies is discussed.

Therapeutic virtual reality (VR) has emerged as an effective, drug-free tool for pain management, but there is a lack of randomized, controlled data evaluating its effectiveness in hospitalized patients. We sought to measure the impact of on-demand VR versus \"health and wellness\" television programming for pain in hospitalized patients. We performed a prospective, randomized, comparative effectiveness trial in hospitalized patients with an average pain score of ≥3 out of 10 points. Patients in the experimental group received a library of 21 VR experiences administered using the Samsung Gear Oculus headset; control patients viewed specialized television programming to promote health and wellness. Clinical staff followed usual care; study interventions were not protocolized. The primary outcome was patient-reported pain using a numeric rating scale, as recorded by nursing staff during usual care. Pre- and post-intervention pain scores were compared immediately after initial treatment and after 48- and 72-hours. There were 120 subjects (61 VR; 59 control). The mean within-subject difference in immediate pre- and post-intervention pain scores was larger in the VR group (-1.72 points; SD 3.56) than in the control group (-0.46 points; SD 3.01); this difference was significant in favor of VR (P < .04). When limited to the subgroup of patients with severe baseline pain (≥7 points), the effect of VR was more pronounced vs. control (-3.04, SD 3.75 vs. -0.93, SD 2.16 points; P = .02). In regression analyses adjusting for pre-intervention pain, time, age, gender, and type of pain, VR yielded a .59 (P = .03) and .56 (P = .04) point incremental reduction in pain versus control during the 48- and 72-hour post-intervention periods, respectively. VR significantly reduces pain versus an active control condition in hospitalized patients. VR is most effective for severe pain. Future trials should evaluate standardized order sets that interpose VR as an early non-drug option for analgesia.

There has been a surge in interest and implementation of immersive virtual reality (IVR)-based lessons in education and training recently, which has resulted in many studies on the topic. There are recent reviews which summarize this research, but little work has been done that synthesizes the existing findings into a theoretical framework. The Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL) synthesizes existing immersive educational research to describe the process of learning in IVR. The general theoretical framework of the model suggests that instructional methods which are based on evidence from research with less immersive media generalize to learning in IVR. However, the CAMIL builds on evidence that media interacts with method. That is, certain methods which facilitate the affordances of IVR are specifically relevant in this medium. The CAMIL identifies presence and agency as the general psychological affordances of learning in IVR, and describes how immersion, control factors, and representational fidelity facilitate these affordances. The model describes six affective and cognitive factors that can lead to IVR-based learning outcomes including interest, motivation, self-efficacy, embodiment, cognitive load, and self-regulation. The model also describes how these factors lead to factual, conceptual, and procedural knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer. Implications for future research and instructional design are proposed.

Background Virtual reality (VR) is an innovation that permits the individual to discover and operate within three-dimensional (3D) environment to gain practical understanding. This research aimed to examine the general efficiency of VR for teaching medical anatomy. Methods We executed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies of the performance of VR anatomy education. We browsed five databases from the year 1990 to 2019. Ultimately, 15 randomized controlled trials with a teaching outcome measure analysis were included. Two authors separately chose studies, extracted information, and examined the risk of bias. The primary outcomes were examination scores of the students. Secondary outcomes were the degrees of satisfaction of the students. Random-effects models were used for the pooled evaluations of scores and satisfaction degrees. Standardized mean difference (SMD) was applied to assess the systematic results. The heterogeneity was determined by I 2 statistics, and then was investigated by meta-regression and subgroup analyses. Results In this review, we screened and included fifteen randomized controlled researches (816 students). The pooled analysis of primary outcomes showed that VR improves test scores moderately compared with other approaches (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.53; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.09–0.97, p  < 0.05; I 2  = 87.8%). The high homogeneity indicated that the studies were different from each other. Therefore, we carried out meta-regression as well as subgroup analyses using seven variables (year, country, learners, course, intervention, comparator, and duration). We found that VR improves post-intervention test score of anatomy compared with other types of teaching methods. Conclusions The finding confirms that VR may act as an efficient way to improve the learners’ level of anatomy knowledge. Future research should assess other factors like degree of satisfaction, cost-effectiveness, and adverse reactions when evaluating the teaching effectiveness of VR in anatomy.

In the light of substantial improvements to the quality and availability of virtual reality (VR) hardware seen since 2013, this review seeks to update our knowledge about the use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) in education and training. Following a comprehensive search 21 documents reporting on experimental studies were identified, quality assessed, and analysed. The quality assessment shows that the study quality was below average according to the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument, especially for the studies that were designed as user evaluations of educational VR products. The review identified a number of situations where HMDs are useful for skills acquisition. These include cognitive skills related to remembering and understanding spatial and visual information and knowledge; psychomotor skills related to head-movement, such as visual scanning or observational skills; and affective skills related to controlling your emotional response to stressful or difficult situations. Outside of these situations the HMDs had no advantage when compared to less immersive technologies or traditional instruction and in some cases even proved counterproductive because of widespread cybersickness, technological challenges, or because the immersive experience distracted from the learning task.

Virtual and augmented (VAR) technology is in the early stages of being adopted as a teaching platform in higher education. The technology can facilitate immersive learning in environments that are not usually physically accessible to students via 3D models and interactive 360° videos. To date, adoption rates of VAR technology for teaching have not been well described across a higher education institution. Further, there is an absence of information on the optimal VAR laboratory designs and cost per student. In this study, a purpose designed virtual reality laboratory was formed in 2017 at The University of Sydney, housing 26 Oculus Rift headset units. An evaluation was conducted on the design, costs, rates of teaching adoption and student experiences over five teaching periods (2.5 years). Over this period, 4833 students were taught in the laboratory across 7952 student visits. The laboratory was used most by the Faculty of Engineering (53%), followed by the Faculty of Arts & Social Science (23.8%) and Faculty of Science (23.2%). For engineering, the units of study using the laboratory represented only 1.4% of annual faculty subjects offered. This confirms that adoption was in the initial stage of innovation diffusion. The laboratory saw a 250% increase in student numbers over the period of evaluation and 71.5% of students surveyed (n = 295) reported enhanced learning outcomes. The cost per visit was only AU$ 19.50. These findings give confidence to higher education institutions that the right VAR technology infrastructure is a sound educational investment for the future.

The metaverse is here. Are you ready? In? The Metaverse Handbook: Innovating for the Internet's Next Tectonic Shift, a duo of experienced tech and culture experts delivers a can't-miss guide to participating in the most promising new technology since the advent of the web. Through dozens of metaverse creator case studies and concise, actionable insights, you'll walk away from this book understanding how to explore and implement the latest metaverse tech emerging from blockchain, XR, and web3. In The Metaverse Handbook, you'll discover: * What the metaverse is, why you should care about it, and how to build your metaverse strategy * The history of the metaverse and primers on critical technologies driving the metaverse, including non-fungible tokens, XR, the blockchain, and web3 * How to unearth unique metaverse opportunities in digital communities, commerce, and immersive experiences As the metaverse has rapidly become the technology platform and marketing buzzword of the future, this new reality for companies, creators, and consumers is not easily understood at the surface level. Those who aim to be at the forefront of this exciting new arena must first understand the foundations and central technologies of the metaverse. An essential resource for digital professionals, creators, and business leaders in the vanguard of the coming technology revolution, ? The Metaverse Handbook ?provides the go-to roadmap for your journey into the metaverse.

Background and aim Depression in Parkinson’s disease (DPD) has a high incidence rate among patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is a common nonmotor symptom of PD that seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Thus, improving DPD is important for improving the quality of life of patients. Psychotherapy for depression is limited for many reasons, and only a few patients are able to benefit from this therapy. Several studies have demonstrated that relaxation therapy, playing, and exercise therapy are effective treatments for depression. In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has rapidly developed as a form of rehabilitation due to its immersive characteristics and accessibility. It has also been applied in the psychological treatment of phobia and anxiety. However, no relevant research on the treatment of DPD has been conducted using VR. This study aims to assess the effects of immersive VR-assisted training on patients with DPD. Methods This single-blind randomized controlled trial will recruit 74 patients with DPD. The patients will then be randomly allocated into two groups. The patients in the VR group ( n  = 37) will receive VR-assisted training (40 min) three times a week for 8 weeks. The patients in the non-VR training group ( n  = 37) will receive treatment as usual. The outcome measures will be assessed before intervention, and after 8 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of the intervention. The primary outcomes will include the Hamilton Depression Scale-24. The secondary outcomes will include the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey questionnaire, neuroinflammation factors (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein), and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Discussion The traditional treatment of depression has limited resources and requires a lot of time and energy. It is not suitable for patients with PD having mobility difficulties and residing in remote areas. VR can make up for limitations in traditional treatment methods. An advantage of VR is that it makes patients more invested in active participation. This study may provide an improved method for the clinical treatment of patients with DPD, which is suitable for clinical decision-making and future practice. Trial registration The study has been registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2200065843, November 16, 2022. https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=174551 {2a and 2b}

The use of virtual laboratories is growing as companies and educational institutions try to expand their reach, cut costs, increase student understanding, and provide more accessible hands on training for future scientists. Many new higher education initiatives outsource lab activities so students now perform them online in a virtual environment rather than in a classroom setting, thereby saving time and money while increasing accessibility. In this paper we explored whether the learning and motivational outcomes of interacting with a desktop virtual reality (VR) science lab simulation on the internet at home are equivalent to interacting with the same simulation in class with teacher supervision. A sample of 112 (76 female) university biology students participated in a between-subjects experimental design, in which participants learned at home or in class from the same virtual laboratory simulation on the topic of microbiology. The home and classroom groups did not differ significantly on post-test learning outcome scores, or on self-report measures of intrinsic motivation or self-efficacy. Furthermore, these conclusions remained after accounting for prior knowledge or goal orientation. In conclusion, the results indicate that virtual simulations are learning activities that students can engage in just as effectively outside of the classroom environment.

Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL offers backgrounds in information studies, computer science, and sociology.This book is divided into three parts: analyzing social media, NodeXL tutorial, and social-media network analysis case studies.Part I provides background in the history and concepts of social media and social networks.