The growing field of digital psychiatry: current evidence and the future of apps, social media, chatbots, and virtual reality

BACKGROUND Digital technology called Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly employed in health professions’ education. Yet, based on the current evidence, its use is narrowed around a few most applications and disciplines. There is a lack of an overview that would capture the diversity of different VR applications in health professions’ education and inform its use and research. OBJECTIVE This narrative review aims to explore different potential applications of VR in health professions’ education. METHODS The narrative synthesis approach to literature review was used to analyse the existing evidence. RESULTS We outline the role of VR features such as immersion, interactivity and feedback and explain the role of VR devices. Based on the type and scope of educational content VR can represent space, individuals, objects, structures or their combination. Application of VR in medical education encompasses environmental, organ and micro level. Environmental VR focuses on training in relation to health professionals’ environment and human interactions. Organ VR educational content targets primarily human body anatomy; and micro VR microscopic structures at the level of cells, molecules and atoms. We examine how different VR features and health professional education areas match these three VR types. CONCLUSIONS We conclude by highlighting the gaps in the literature and providing suggestions for future research.

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Afterword

The Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190660772.013.41 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 680-683

Author(s):

Janice L. Waldron ◽

Stephanie Horsley ◽

Kari K. Veblen

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Media Use ◽

Careful Selection ◽

Social Media Use ◽

Pedagogical Tools ◽

The Future ◽

User Data ◽

Selection Of ◽

Data Surface

We all feel the implications of the force of social media—for good and for ill—in our lives and in our professional world. At the time of this writing, Facebook continues with its struggle to “clean up its act” as more revelations surrounding breaches of trust and hacked user data surface in the news and various countries attempt to hold Facebook to account. Despite this, social media use continues to grow exponentially, and the potential for responsible, ethical, and transparent social media to transform the ways in which we interact with and learn from each other increase with it. As we wait to see what the future holds for social media in society, we are reminded once again that it is the careful selection of pedagogical tools such as social media, as well the guided awareness of the challenges and benefits of those tools, that remains constant, even as tools may change, disappear, or fall out of fashion.

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A trip into the future [virtual reality and artificial intelligence]

IET 2nd International Technology and Innovation Conference ◽

10.1049/ic:20060236 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

I. Pearson

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Virtual Reality ◽

The Future

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Indigenous language newspapers and the digital media conundrum in Africa

Information Development ◽

10.1177/0266666920983403 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026666692098340

Author(s):

Kevin Onyenankeya

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Digital Media ◽

Digital Transformation ◽

Qualitative Approach ◽

Indigenous Language ◽

Technological Determinism ◽

Traditional Media ◽

Digital Revolution ◽

The Future ◽

Major Factors

The future of journalism is being shaped by the convergence of technology and societal shifts. For indigenous language press in Africa battling to stay afloat amidst stiff competition from traditional media, the pervasive and rapidly encroaching digital transformation holds both opportunities and potential threats. Using a qualitative approach, this paper examined the implication of the shift to digital media for the future of the indigenous language newspaper in Africa and identifies opportunities for its sustainability within the framework of the theories of technological determinism and alternative media. The analysis indicates poor funding, shrinking patronage, and competition from traditional and social media as the major factors facing indigenous newspapers. It emerged that for indigenous language newspapers to thrive in the rapidly changing and technology-driven world they need to not only adapt to the digital revolution but also explore a business model that combines a futuristic outlook with a practical approach.

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From virtual to real healing: a critical overview of the therapeutic use of virtual reality to cope with mourning

Current Psychology ◽

10.1007/s12144-021-02158-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Silvia Francesca Maria Pizzoli ◽

Dario Monzani ◽

Laura Vergani ◽

Virginia Sanchini ◽

Ketti Mazzocco

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Social Media ◽

Virtual Reality ◽

Side Effects ◽

Virtual Environments ◽

Therapeutic Use ◽

Health Care Needs ◽

Care Needs ◽

South Korean ◽

Critical Overview

AbstractIn recent years, virtual reality (VR) has been effectively employed in several settings, ranging from health care needs to leisure and gaming activities. A new application of virtual stimuli appeared in social media: in the documentary ‘I met you’ from the South-Korean Munhwa Broadcasting, a mother made the experience of interacting with the avatar of the seven-year-old daughter, who died four years before. We think that this new application of virtual stimuli should open a debate on its possible implications: it represents contents related to grief, a dramatic and yet natural experience, that can have deep psychological impacts on fragile subjects put in virtual environments. In the present work, possible side-effects, as well as hypothetical therapeutical application of VR for the treatment of mourning, are discussed.

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Preparedness 3.0: Addressing the Future

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2015.138 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 728-729 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Georges C. Benjamin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Climate Change ◽

Social Media ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Extreme Weather ◽

Common Occurrence ◽

Public Health Preparedness ◽

Public Health Emergencies ◽

State Sponsorship ◽

The Future

ABSTRACTThe last 14 years has taught us that that we are facing a new reality; a reality in which public health emergencies are a common occurrence. Today, we live in a world with dangerous people without state sponsorship who are an enormous threat to our safety; one where emerging and reemerging infectious diseases are waiting to break out; a world where the benefits of globalization in trade, transportation, and social media brings threats to our communities faster and with a greater risk than ever before. Even climate change has entered into the preparedness equation, bringing with it the forces of nature in the form of extreme weather and its complications. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:728–729)

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Communication Technology and Social Media: Opportunities and Implications for Healthcare Systems

OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing ◽

10.3912/ojin.vol17no03man03 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Betsy Weaver ◽

Bill Lindsay ◽

Betsy Gitelman

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Communication Technology ◽

Technology Implementation ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Positive Outcomes ◽

Social Media Text ◽

E Mail ◽

Improve Patient

Electronic patient education and communications, such as email, text messaging, and social media, are on the rise in healthcare today. This article explores potential uses of technology to seek solutions in healthcare for such challenges as modifying behaviors related to chronic conditions, improving efficiency, and decreasing costs. A brief discussion highlights the role of technologies in healthcare informatics and considers two theoretical bases for technology implementation. Discussion focuses more extensively on the ability and advantages of electronic communication technology, such as e-mail, social media, text messaging, and electronic health records, to enhance patient-provider e-communications in nursing today. Effectiveness of e-communication in healthcare is explored, including recent and emerging applications designed to improve patient–provider connections and review of current evidence supporting positive outcomes. The conclusion addresses the vision of nurses’ place in the vanguard of these developments.

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