Using Virtual Reality in Mental Health Communication Research
CHALLENGE
Past research has offered promising insights into applying virtual reality (VR) in health behavior research.
There is a gap in identifying opportunities to develop valid and reliable VR models to understand the effectiveness of mental health messages.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Is VR an effective platform to examine the effectiveness of mental health messages?
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Design: Prototyping, Modeling
Qualitative: Survey
FINDINGS
Participants indicated that the virtual environment was realistic and usable.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Health communicators and designers should use new media technologies such as virtual reality to conceptualize, create, and examine the role of environments on mental health communication.
