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Ethical Considerations of Using VR in Mental Health Training

Ethical Considerations of Using VR in Mental Health Training

Andrew Cachia, Vanessa Camilleri, Alexiei Dingli, Michael Galea, Paulann Grech, Alexei Sammut, Josianne Scerri
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 27
ISBN13: 9781799878889|ISBN10: 1799878880|EISBN13: 9781799878896
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7888-9.ch006
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MLA

Cachia, Andrew, et al. "Ethical Considerations of Using VR in Mental Health Training." Ethical Implications of Reshaping Healthcare With Emerging Technologies, edited by Thomas Heinrich Musiolik and Alexiei Dingli, IGI Global, 2022, pp. 104-130. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7888-9.ch006

APA

Cachia, A., Camilleri, V., Dingli, A., Galea, M., Grech, P., Sammut, A., & Scerri, J. (2022). Ethical Considerations of Using VR in Mental Health Training. In T. Musiolik & A. Dingli (Eds.), Ethical Implications of Reshaping Healthcare With Emerging Technologies (pp. 104-130). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7888-9.ch006

Chicago

Cachia, Andrew, et al. "Ethical Considerations of Using VR in Mental Health Training." In Ethical Implications of Reshaping Healthcare With Emerging Technologies, edited by Thomas Heinrich Musiolik and Alexiei Dingli, 104-130. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2022. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7888-9.ch006

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Abstract

Mental health students, who are still undergoing training, might find it challenging to visualise and fully understand what their patients experience. For this reason, the authors created a virtual reality simulator which mimics the symptoms of a person suffering from schizophrenia at a virtual workplace. The simulation is managed by an artificial intelligence system which asks the user to attempt simple tasks, while simultaneously facing both visual and auditory hallucinations. The AI also adapts the storyline and character behaviour dynamically to increase the immersiveness of the experience. A pilot study was carried out, and the initial results were very encouraging. In fact, the absolute majority of the users stated that the simulation has helped increase their understanding of schizophrenia. In this chapter, the authors evaluate this experiment but from a different perspective. They focus mainly on the use of emerging technologies such as AI and VR and discuss the ethical considerations of their use within the field of mental health.

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