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vizHOME: A Context-Based Health Information Needs Assessment Strategy

Project Final Report (PDF, 725.32 KB) Disclaimer

Virtual reality technology can be used to recreate issues patients may experience in their homes and identify the complex and concurrent interactions impacting personal health information management.

Project Details -
Completed

As chronic diseases become more common, healthcare tasks are often completed in the home instead of in the clinician’s office or hospital. Unlike formal medical settings, the home environment lacks the type of controlled environment that is ideal for healthcare tasks. For patients with complex medical treatments or limited mobility, personal health information management (PHIM) can be particularly difficult. What if healthcare providers could “visit” a patient’s home using virtual reality (VR) technology? What if they could incorporate the characteristics of the home identified during this “visit” into the patient’s plan of care? A University of Wisconsin-based research team aimed to do just that.

The goal of this study was to determine how household context shapes PHIM among adults who self-identify as having diabetes. A multidisciplinary research team conducted a series of home assessments, laboratory studies, and a field survey to examine the visible, physical aspects of the home environment as well as the personal characteristics that influence PHIM. The team then used laser technology to create digital models of the homes of patients diagnosed with diabetes and explored its features in VR. To gain a better understanding of the cognitive processes of completing healthcare tasks, the team used the VR simulations to recreate the issues patients encounter with those tasks at home, and evaluated the connections between social structure, physical environment, and task.

The specific aims of the research were as follows:

  • Identify which features of the home context shape PHIM. 
  • Determine the task process factors and personal characteristics that alter the influence of household context on PHIM. 

The investigators found that PHIM is the result of many complex interactions and that two patients rarely complete a task the same way, even when in the same environment. They created a systematic way to understand and measure how household context—such as storage adequacy, lighting, and privacy affordance—influences PHIM. This technology could assist in planning for transitional care and hospital discharges for aging adults who wish to stay in their homes, and is a critical step to improving medical self-management at home.

It’s Not Just for Video Games: Using Virtual Reality to Enhance Patient Care

It’s Not Just for Video Games: Using Virtual Reality to Enhance Patient Care

Virtual reality technology can be used to recreate issues patients may experience in their homes and identify the complex and concurrent interactions impacting personal health information management.

The rise of chronic diseases and the need to complete healthcare tasks in the home

What if healthcare providers could “visit” a patient’s home using virtual reality (VR) technology? What if they could incorporate the characteristics of the home identified during this “visit” into the patient’s plan of care? A University of Wisconsin-based research team aims to do just that. As chronic diseases become more common, healthcare tasks are often completed in the home instead of in the clinician’s office or hospital. Unlike formal medical settings, the home environment lacks the type of controlled environment that is ideal for healthcare tasks. For patients with complex medical treatments or limited mobility, completing these tasks at home can be particularly difficult.

Innovative approaches to understanding patient needs

Led by Dr. Kevin Ponto, the research team used laser technology to create digital models of the homes of patients diagnosed with diabetes and explore its features in VR. To gain a better understanding of the cognitive processes of completing healthcare tasks, the team used the VR simulations to recreate the issues patients encounter with those tasks at home, and evaluated the connections between social structure, physical environment, and task.

This research could guide how homes are designed to accommodate an aging population who are very interested in living at home.”
– Dr. Ponto

VR technology can help people age in place

Dr. Ponto and his team found that personal health information management is the result of many complex interactions. They observed that two patients rarely complete a task the same way, even when in the same environment. As the healthcare worker shortage continues, this technology could assist in planning for transitional care and hospital discharges for aging adults who wish to stay in their homes. It could also be expanded to other conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Ponto believes VR technology is a “critical step” to improving medical self-management at home.