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Rich-Joseph Facun
Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services visiting Ohio University.
Ohio University hosted Lori Criss, Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and her staff for an immersive presentation on the University’s use of virtual reality.
“Today I am very excited to learn about the possibilities of virtual reality,” said Criss. “This is definitely a future-oriented space for our department.”
Ohio University faculty gave Criss and his team demonstrations about the University’s cutting-edge virtual reality technology and what it means for the future of health care and law enforcement.
The first simulation, “Destiny,” simulates the experience of working with health care patients in Appalachia and provides insight into regional values that can inform ways in which professionals can provide better care.
The decision to use virtual reality to convey difficult situations was extremely intentional and intended to convey a more human element to the complexities faced by those in need of health care, especially in Appalachia. During the simulation, a person wearing the virtual reality glasses will enter episodes where the characters interact with their health care providers, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, as well as social workers and families.
“There are animated versions of this that I’ve seen, and to me they’re not as effective,” said John McCarthy, interim dean of the College of Health Sciences and Professions.
The simulation revolves around Destiny, a 20-something woman from Appalachia. She’s pregnant, unmarried, her parents are largely absent, and she’s also addicted to opioids. The simulation plays out like a movie, starting with Destiny smoking a cigarette and heading to her first doctor’s appointment for the baby, while her partner passes out on opioids.
“It didn’t feel like Hollywood,” Criss said after the experience.
Criss attested to the gravity of the experience of growing up in Appalachia, stating that even the wood paneling of the houses reminded him of his childhood.
The project is designed to educate health care professionals about aspects of Appalachian culture and help them recognize implicit biases that can complicate care for patients in the region. The series is part of a larger project, “Virtual Reality Simulations to Address Provider Bias and Cultural Competency,” which is funded by a grant from the Ohio Medicaid Policy and Technical Assistance Program.
The virtual reality was created by faculty with the College of Health Sciences and Professions and the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and was developed by the Game Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Lab at the Scripps College of Communication, which serves as an innovative and creative hub for students, faculty and staff for research and project development.
The project was led by co-principal researchers McCarthy and Deborah Henderson, professor and director of the School of Nursing. Other researchers on the project include Elizabeth Beverly, assistant professor of family medicine at the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine; John Bowditch, director of the GRID Lab; and Eric Williams, professor at Scripps College of Communication.
The faculty then presented a virtual reality training designed for Appalachian law enforcement students. The training is part of the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service’s Appalachian Law Enforcement Initiative, an initiative to bring law enforcement and communities together to improve community and police relations. Because distance, small populations and low budgets often make it difficult to train law enforcement in the region, virtual reality is being used to overcome these limitations and provide officers with much more immersive training.
During the presentation, participants experience OHIO’s virtual reality programs firsthand.
In the simulation, two officers are sent to deal with an Iraq war veteran suffering from a PTSD episode.
The Appalachian Law Enforcement Initiative is designed to engage entire communities, bringing together law enforcement officers, community officers and public administrators in a partnership to reduce the use of force, teach de-escalation techniques and improve outcomes for law enforcement for both the community and the police.
To overcome these barriers, the initiative plans to use virtual reality in its training. Rather than using the technology in a traditionally tactical sense, the goal of the initiative is to immerse law enforcement in an experience that can change their perspectives, while creating a structure to engage public policy makers and community leaders. Officers in training wear virtual reality headsets to look around and learn from the training environment, providing a more immersive experience.
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