TY - JOUR
T1 - Education about hallucinations using an internet virtual reality system
T2 - A qualitative survey
AU - Yellowlees, Peter Mackinlay
AU - Cook, James N.
PY - 2006/12/1
Y1 - 2006/12/1
N2 - Objective: The authors evaluate an Internet virtual reality technology as an education tool about the hallucinations of psychosis. Method: This is a pilot project using Second Life, an Internetbased virtual reality system, in which a virtual reality environment was constructed to simulate the auditory and visual hallucinations of two patients with schizophrenia. Eight hundred sixty-three self-referred users took a self-guided tour. Results: Five hundred seventy-nine (69%) of the users who toured the environment completed a survey. Of the survey responders, 440 (76%) thought the environment improved their understanding of auditory hallucinations, 69% thought it improved their understanding of visual hallucinations, and 82% said they would recommend the environment to a friend. Conclusions: Computer simulations of the perceptual phenomena of psychiatric illness are feasible with existing personal computer technology. Integration of the evaluation survey into the environment itself was possible. The use of Internet-connected graphics environments holds promise for public education about mental illness.
AB - Objective: The authors evaluate an Internet virtual reality technology as an education tool about the hallucinations of psychosis. Method: This is a pilot project using Second Life, an Internetbased virtual reality system, in which a virtual reality environment was constructed to simulate the auditory and visual hallucinations of two patients with schizophrenia. Eight hundred sixty-three self-referred users took a self-guided tour. Results: Five hundred seventy-nine (69%) of the users who toured the environment completed a survey. Of the survey responders, 440 (76%) thought the environment improved their understanding of auditory hallucinations, 69% thought it improved their understanding of visual hallucinations, and 82% said they would recommend the environment to a friend. Conclusions: Computer simulations of the perceptual phenomena of psychiatric illness are feasible with existing personal computer technology. Integration of the evaluation survey into the environment itself was possible. The use of Internet-connected graphics environments holds promise for public education about mental illness.
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U2 - 10.1176/appi.ap.30.6.534
DO - 10.1176/appi.ap.30.6.534
M3 - Article
C2 - 17139026
AN - SCOPUS:34248189532
VL - 30
SP - 534
EP - 539
JO - Academic Psychiatry
JF - Academic Psychiatry
SN - 1042-9670
IS - 6
ER -