Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, United States.
J Med Internet Res. 2022 Jun 1;24(6):e36843. doi: 10.2196/36843.
With the influx of medical virtual reality (VR) technologies, cybersickness has transitioned from a nuisance experienced during leisure activities to a potential safety and efficacy concern for patients and clinicians. To improve health equity, it is important to understand any potential differences in cybersickness propensity among demographic groups, including racial groups.
This study aims to explore whether cybersickness propensity differs across racial groups.
We collected self-reported cybersickness ratings from 6 racially diverse independent samples within 1 laboratory group (N=931). In these studies, the participants were asked to perform tasks in VR such as traversing environments, pointing at and selecting objects, and interacting with virtual humans.
Significant racial differences in cybersickness were found in 50% (3/6) of studies. A mini meta-analysis revealed that, on average, Black participants reported approximately one-third of SD less cybersickness than White participants (Cohen d=-0.31; P<.001), regardless of the nature of the VR experience. There was no overall difference in reported cybersickness between the Asian and White participants (Cohen d=-0.11; P=.51).
Racial differences in cybersickness indicate that researchers, practitioners, and regulators should consider patient demographics when evaluating VR health intervention outcomes. These findings lay the groundwork for future studies that may explore racial differences in cybersickness directly.
随着医学虚拟现实 (VR) 技术的涌入，晕动病已从休闲活动中的一种烦扰转变为患者和临床医生关注的潜在安全和疗效问题。为了提高健康公平性，了解晕动病倾向在包括种族群体在内的不同人群中的任何潜在差异非常重要。
本研究旨在探讨晕动病倾向是否存在种族差异。
我们在一个实验室组内收集了来自 6 个种族多样化独立样本的自我报告的晕动病评分（N=931）。在这些研究中，要求参与者在 VR 中执行任务，例如穿越环境、指向和选择对象以及与虚拟人交互。
在 50%（3/6）的研究中发现了显著的种族间晕动病差异。小型元分析显示，无论 VR 体验的性质如何，黑人参与者报告的晕动病平均比白人参与者少约三分之一的标准差（Cohen d=-0.31；P<.001）。亚洲和白人参与者之间的报告晕动病没有总体差异（Cohen d=-0.11；P=.51）。
晕动病的种族差异表明，研究人员、从业者和监管机构在评估 VR 健康干预结果时应考虑患者的人口统计学特征。这些发现为未来可能直接探索晕动病种族差异的研究奠定了基础。
