The Japanese Journal for Medical Virtual Reality
Online ISSN : 2187-2201
Print ISSN : 1347-9342
Volume 18, Issue 1
Displaying 1-2 of 2 articles from this issue
Applied research papers
  • Masako Kanai-Pak, Shuichi Kawano, Masahiro Kunichika, Hiroshi Oyama
    2021 Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 1-8
    Published: December 01, 2021
    Released on J-STAGE: December 01, 2022
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    This paper introduces the development of a VR program of interview scenes for nurse managers. The contents include four scenarios which nurse managers often encounter. Twenty-two nurse managers participated in its verification. Ninety percent of the participants answered “agree” or “strongly agree” regarding “helpful,” “useful for the future,” and “interesting.” Due to COVID-19, the participants watched the VR program either at their home or work places. All the discussions were held online. Even during the state of emergency, it is confirmed that a VR program can be useful tool for training and education.

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Original Paper
  • Wey Guan Lem, Ayako Kohyama-Koganeya, Toki Saito, Hiroshi Oyama
    2021 Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 9-19
    Published: December 01, 2021
    Released on J-STAGE: December 01, 2022
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Background: The public stigma of depression can lead to unemployment and self-stigmatization for the patient with depression. Contact-based educational intervention is one of the most effective interventions to reduce depression stigma. However, contact using an actual patient is difficult to arrange and is ethically challenging. Virtual reality (VR) technology could reduce the stigma of depression by allowing users to interact with virtual patients. This study aimed to develop a support tool (VR-based anti-stigma: VRAS) for learning about depression and stigma for depression using virtual patients. Methods: A rapid prototyping method was adopted to develop the VRAS application using Unity3D (Unity Technologies, San Francisco, CA). The subjects were adults without mental illness. A questionnaire modified from a web-based learning tool (WBLT) evaluation scale was used to measure usefulness, comprehensibility, usability, and VR sickness. Results: Sixteen participants were recruited using snowball sampling and experienced the VRAS application. Of the participants, 81.3% rated the application positively for usefulness. All participants gave positive ratings for comprehensibility and usability. 56.2% of the participants experienced mild VR sickness. Conclusion: The VRAS application could be a user-friendly and helpful tool for learning about the stigma of depression. Future randomized controlled trials are needed to validate its effectiveness.

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