Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Patient Educ Couns. 2011 Mar;82(3):313-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.12.007. Epub 2011 Jan 12.
This report reviews the literature for studies that employ immersive virtual environment technology methods to conduct experimental studies in health care communication. Advantages and challenges of using these tools for research in this area are also discussed.
A literature search was conducted using the Scopus database. Results were hand searched to identify the body of studies, conducted since 1995, that are related to the report objective.
The review identified four relevant studies that stem from two unique projects. One project focused on the impact of a clinician's characteristics and behavior on health care communication, the other focused on the characteristics of the patient. Both projects illustrate key methodological advantages conferred by immersive virtual environments, including, ability to maintain simultaneously high experimental control and realism, ability to manipulate variables in new ways, and unique behavioral measurement opportunities.
Though implementation challenges exist for immersive virtual environment-based research methods, given the technology's unique capabilities, benefits can outweigh the costs in many instances.
Immersive virtual environments may therefore prove an important addition to the array of tools available for advancing our understanding of communication in health care.
本报告回顾了使用沉浸式虚拟环境技术方法进行医疗保健沟通实验研究的文献。还讨论了在该领域使用这些工具进行研究的优势和挑战。
使用 Scopus 数据库进行文献检索。手动搜索结果以确定自 1995 年以来与报告目标相关的研究。
综述确定了四项相关研究，这些研究源于两个独特的项目。一个项目侧重于临床医生的特征和行为对医疗保健沟通的影响，另一个项目侧重于患者的特征。这两个项目都说明了沉浸式虚拟环境带来的关键方法学优势，包括能够同时保持高度的实验控制和现实感，能够以新的方式操纵变量，以及独特的行为测量机会。
尽管沉浸式虚拟环境研究方法存在实施挑战，但考虑到该技术的独特功能，在许多情况下，收益可能超过成本。
因此，沉浸式虚拟环境可能会成为医疗保健沟通研究工具的重要补充。
