Ronaghi Mohammad Hossein, Ronaghi Marzieh
Department of Management, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2025 Feb;34(1):e13443. doi: 10.1111/inm.13443. Epub 2024 Oct 11.
Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression are on the rise in communities. Ignoring severe mental health issues can lead to suicide, which is a global public health issue. The use of advanced tools and methods to prevent suicide can help save human lives. Visual tools and virtual technologies have multiple applications in the medical and educational fields. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using virtual reality (VR) technology on suicidal thoughts. A quasi-experimental study was conducted, in which 189 individuals who had a history of suicide were tested. These individuals were divided into three groups: one control group and two intervention groups that received traditional and VR-based training for 90 days. The Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation was used. The posttest results after the training period showed that conducting the training course had a statistically significant effect on individuals' suicidal behaviour and those who participated in the VR-based training course had better improvements in suicidal thoughts. Therefore, the use of 3D simulation and visualisation tools can have a significant impact on individuals' thoughts and perceptions. The results of this study have practical implications for hospital managers and counsellors in healthcare centres to use VR technology in counselling and training courses to improve the behaviour of individuals with a history of suicide.
社区中焦虑和抑郁等心理健康问题正在增加。忽视严重的心理健康问题可能导致自杀，这是一个全球公共卫生问题。使用先进的工具和方法预防自杀有助于挽救生命。视觉工具和虚拟技术在医学和教育领域有多种应用。本研究的目的是调查使用虚拟现实（VR）技术对自杀念头的影响。进行了一项准实验研究，对189名有自杀史的个体进行了测试。这些个体被分为三组：一个对照组和两个干预组，分别接受为期90天的传统培训和基于VR的培训。使用了贝克自杀意念量表。培训期后的测试结果表明，开展培训课程对个体的自杀行为有统计学上的显著影响，且参加基于VR培训课程的个体在自杀念头方面有更好的改善。因此，使用3D模拟和可视化工具可对个体的思想和认知产生重大影响。本研究结果对医院管理人员和医疗保健中心的咨询师在咨询和培训课程中使用VR技术以改善有自杀史个体的行为具有实际意义。
