A Reflection on Virtual Reality Design for Psychological, Cognitive & Behavioral Interventions: Design Needs, Opportunities & Challenges

Despite the substantial research interest in using Virtual Reality (VR) in healthcare in general and in Psychological, Cognitive, and Behavioral (PC&B) interventions in specific, as well as emerging research supporting the efficacy of VR in healthcare, the design process of translating therapies into VR to meet the needs of critical stakeholders such as users and clinicians is rarely addressed. In this paper, we aim to shed light onto the design needs, opportunities and challenges in designing efficient and effective PC&B-VR interventions. Through analyzing the co-design processes of four user-centered PC&B-VR interventions, we examined how therapies were adapted into VR to meet stakeholders’ requirements, explored design elements for meaningful experiences, and investigated how the understanding of healthcare contexts contribute to the VR intervention design. This paper presents the HCI research community with design opportunities and challenges as well as future directions for PC&B-VR intervention design

The "Conversation" about Loss : Understanding How Chatbot Technology was Used in Supporting People in Grief

While conversational agents have traditionally been used for simple tasks such as scheduling meetings and customer service support, recent advancements have led researchers to examine their use in complex social situations, such as to provide emotional support and companionship. For mourners who could be vulnerable to the sense of loneliness and disruption of self-identity, such technology offers a unique way to help them cope with grief. In this study, we explore the potential benefits and risks of such a practice, through semi-structured interviews with 10 mourners who actively used chatbots at different phases of their loss. Our findings indicated seven approaches in which chatbots were used to help people cope with grief, by taking the role of listener, acting as a simulation of the deceased, romantic partner, friend and emotion coach. We then highlight how interacting with the chatbots impacted mourners’ grief experience and conclude the paper with further research opportunities

The human connection: Oncologist characteristics that facilitate therapeutic bonding among Latino patients with advanced cancer

e18676 Background: Therapeutic alliances (TA) are bonds between patients and their oncologists characterized by mutual caring, trust, understanding, and respect. They lay the foundation for the provision of high-quality cancer care. We here relate oncologist characteristics to TA in Latino vs. non-Latino advanced cancer patients. Results will inform the development of an intervention to train oncologists in how to develop a strong TA with their Latino patients. Methods: The study population included non-Latino oncologists (n = 41) and their Latino (n = 67) and non-Latino white (n = 90) patients with advanced cancers who participated in Coping with Cancer III, a multi-site prospective cohort study designed to examine Latino/non-Latino disparities in advance care planning and end-of-life cancer care, conducted at U.S. medical centers from 2015-2019. Oncologist characteristics included age, sex, race, institution type, Spanish language proficiency and practice style behaviors (e.g., “familismo”— embracing dedication, commitment, and loyalty to family), addressing patients by their first name, and personal disclosure (e.g., “personalismo”), among others. The average score of 6 items from The Human Connection scale was used to assess the patients’ TA with their oncologists. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to evaluate the effects of oncologist characteristics on TA in the full patient sample and stratified by patient ethnicity. Results: Of the 157 patients, 67 (42.7%) were Latino; most were female (n = 92, 58.6%) and < 65 years old (n = 95, 60.5%). Most oncologists were male (n = 24, 58.5%), non-Latino? white (n = 25, 61%), and ≥ 40 years (n = 25, 61%). There were no significant associations between patient age, sex, Medicaid recipient status, education level, marital status, and geographic region with TA. An adjusted HLM in the full sample showed that Latino ethnicity was associated with significantly lower TA (b = −0.16, p = 0.037). In an adjusted HLM for TA stratified by ethnicity, oncologist preference to address patients by their first names (b = 0.34, p = 0.001) and a “familismo” practice style (b = 0.46, p = 0.001) were positively associated with TA among Latino patients. In contrast, “familismo” had no impact on TA for the non-Latino white patients. Conclusions: In this study, Latino patients with advanced cancer had a worse therapeutic alliance with their oncologists compared to non-Latino patients. Cultural differences between Latino and non-Latino white patients may be leveraged in an intervention designed to improve the therapeutic bonding and patient-clinician relationship between oncologists and their Latino patients with advanced cancer, thus potentially mitigating cancer care disparities in this important, often underserved, patient population