Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Health Commun. 2009 Dec;24(8):677-82. doi: 10.1080/10410230903263982.
Social and behavioral research needs to get started now if scientists are to direct genomic discoveries to address pressing public health problems. Advancing social and behavioral science will require innovative and rigorous communication methodologies that move researchers beyond reliance on traditional tools and their inherent limitations. One such emerging research tool is immersive virtual environment technology (virtual reality), a methodology that gives researchers the ability to maintain high experimental control and mundane realism of scenarios; portray and manipulate complex, abstract objects and concepts; and implement innovative implicit behavioral measurement. This report suggests the role that immersive virtual environment technology can play in furthering future research in genomics-related education, decision making, test intentions, behavior change, and health-care provider behaviors. Practical implementation and challenges are also discussed.
如果科学家们要将基因组学发现应用于解决紧迫的公共卫生问题，那么社会和行为研究现在就需要起步。推进社会和行为科学需要创新和严谨的沟通方法，使研究人员不再依赖传统工具及其固有的局限性。沉浸式虚拟环境技术（虚拟现实）就是一种新兴的研究工具，它使研究人员能够在保持高度实验控制和场景逼真度的同时，描绘和操作复杂、抽象的对象和概念，并实施创新的隐性行为测量。本报告探讨了沉浸式虚拟环境技术在推进与基因组学相关的教育、决策、测试意向、行为改变和医疗保健提供者行为的未来研究中可以发挥的作用。还讨论了实际的实施和挑战。
