Army Medical Department Field Office, Army Futures Command, Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Army Research Laboratory Future Soldier Technologies Division, Real-World Soldier Quantification Branch, FCDD-RLH-FA, Fort Sam Houston (JBSA), Texas, USA.
Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia, USA.
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2021 Aug;24(8):526-535. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2019.0590. Epub 2021 Mar 2.
Virtual worlds (VWs) present a viable, low-cost delivery mechanism for telehealth services. Although preliminary reports support the effectiveness of VWs in terms of health metrics, few studies have examined the perceived benefits and learning potential for military service members and veterans. Trust is integral to any interaction and may be even more important, and problematic to establish, during virtual interactions than in-person (IP) communications. The purpose of this study was to compare active duty and veteran U.S. Military service members' ( = 92) self-reported trust, class satisfaction, and didactic learning after completing either an 8-week training course in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) delivered IP or an 8-week mindfulness meditation class based on MBSR via the VW of Second Life. Results showed that learning performance was not significantly different between the IP and VW groups ( > 0.05). Although overall trust was high for both groups, participants in the IP group reported greater trust and class satisfaction compared with the VW group ( < 0.05). Trust, satisfaction, and learning were significantly correlated with one another, and trust in the instructor significantly predicted trust-in-classmates, trust-in-self, and class satisfaction for both groups ( < 0.05). In this study, IP group training was superior to VW training in terms of self-reported greater trust in the instructor, classmates, and self, and higher satisfaction with the training. Trust in the instructor is particularly important for group training, whether IP or in a VW. This study reiterates the arduous task of establishing trust in a VW setting and suggests that creating trust between the instructor and participants is high priority as a leading objective for VW communications. Suggestions for building trust are tight collaboration and clear communication, along with supporting and advocating for one another.
虚拟世界（VW）为远程医疗服务提供了一种可行且低成本的交付机制。尽管初步报告支持 VW 在健康指标方面的有效性，但很少有研究检查其对现役军人和退伍军人的感知益处和学习潜力。信任是任何交互的组成部分，在虚拟交互中可能比面对面（IP）通信更重要，也更难建立。本研究的目的是比较现役和退伍美国军人（ = 92）在完成基于正念减压（MBSR）的 8 周培训课程（面对面进行）或基于 MBSR 的 8 周正念冥想课程（通过 VW Second Life 进行）后的自我报告信任、课程满意度和教学学习情况。结果表明，学习表现两组之间没有显著差异（ > 0.05）。尽管两组的总体信任度都很高，但与 VW 组相比，IP 组的参与者报告了更高的信任度和课程满意度（ < 0.05）。信任、满意度和学习彼此显著相关，并且两组中对讲师的信任都显著预测了对同学、对自己和对课程的满意度（ < 0.05）。在这项研究中，IP 组的培训在自我报告的对讲师、同学和自己的更高信任度以及对培训的更高满意度方面优于 VW 培训。对讲师的信任对于 IP 或 VW 中的小组培训都非常重要。这项研究重申了在 VW 环境中建立信任的艰巨任务，并表明在 VW 通信中，建立讲师与参与者之间的信任是首要目标。建立信任的建议是紧密合作和明确沟通，以及相互支持和倡导。
