Simulation of symptoms of Mental Health Disorders in Virtual Reality

• Thesis title in Czech: Simulation of symptoms of Mental Health Disorders in Virtual Reality
• Thesis title in English: Simulation of symptoms of Mental Health Disorders in Virtual Reality
• Key words: Duševní poruchy|Virtuální realita|Výukové nástroje|Simulace symptomů
• English key words: Mental Health Disorders|Virtual Reality|Learning Tools|Symptom simulation
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2023/2024
• Thesis type: diploma thesis
• Department: Department of Software and Computer Science Education (32-KSVI)
• Supervisor: Mgr. et Mgr. Iveta Hocko Fajnerová, Ph.D.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 03.01.2024
• Date of assignment: 03.01.2024
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 03.01.2024

Guidelines

CZ: Cílem této diplomové práce je vytvořit softwarovou simulaci virtuální reality, která by replikovala příznaky různých duševních poruch. Hlavním cílem je vytvořit výukový nástroj, který studenty vtáhne do realistických scénářů, ilustrujících, jak se pacienti mohou chovat v různých sociálních prostředích. Předpokládanými příjemci této simulace jsou studenti studující psychiatrii, medicínu a klinickou psychologii. Tím, že tento software poskytuje pohlcující a informativní zážitek, se snaží zlepšit porozumění studentů poruchám duševního zdraví a jejich projevům v různých sociálních kontextech.
Vytvořená VR aplikace by měla být otestována několika odborníky v oboru psychiatrie a psychologie a alespoň 30 studenty.


EN: The thesis aims to develop a virtual reality software simulation replicating the symptoms of various mental health disorders. The primary objective is to create an educational tool that immerses students in realistic scenarios, illustrating how patients may behave in diverse social environments. The intended beneficiaries of this simulation are students studying psychiatry, medicine, and clinical psychology. By providing an immersive and informative experience, this software seeks to enhance students' understanding of mental health disorders and their manifestations in different social contexts.
The developed VR application should be tested by several experts in psychiatry and psychology and at least 30 students.

References

References:
Alverson, D. C., Saiki, S. M., Kalishman, S., Lindberg, M., Mennin, S., Mines, J., … Caudell, T. P. (2008). Medical Students Learn Over Distance Using Virtual Reality Simulation. Simulation in Healthcare: The Journal of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, 3(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.1097/SIH.0b013e31815f0d51
Banks, J. E., Tichon, J., Ericksson, G., Ivermee, S., Burrage, K., & Yellowlees, P. (2003). A virtual environment to simulate the experience of psychosis. Science & Engineering Faculty. Retrieved from https://eprints.qut.edu.au/55340/
Elliman, J., Loizou, M., & Loizides, F. (2016). Virtual Reality Simulation Training for Student Nurse Education. In 2016 8th International Conference on Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications (VS-GAMES) (pp. 1–2). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/VS-GAMES.2016.7590377
Formosa, N. J., Morrison, B. W., Hill, G., & Stone, D. (2018). Testing the efficacy of a virtual reality-based simulation in enhancing users’ knowledge, attitudes, and empathy relating to psychosis. Australian Journal of Psychology, 70(1), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12167
Silva, R. D. de C., Albuquerque, S. G. C., Muniz, A. de V, Filho, P. P. R., Ribeiro, S., Pinheiro, P. R., & Albuquerque, V. H. C. (2017). Reducing the Schizophrenia Stigma: A New Approach Based on Augmented Reality. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2017, 2721846. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/2721846
Williams, B., Reddy, P., Marshall, S., Beovich, B., & McKarney, L. (2017). Simulation and mental health outcomes: a scoping review. Advances in Simulation (London, England), 2, 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-016-0035-9

Preliminary scope of work

Vývoj softwaru bude bedlivě sledován odborníky na danou problematiku (psychiatr, klinický psycholog), aby byla zajištěna kvalita a relevance simulace prostřednictvím reprezentované symptomatologie.

Preliminary scope of work in English

The target of the thesis is to develop a software tool for simulation of various symptoms of selected mental health disorders (e.g. depression, schizophrenia, etc.) using virtual reality (VR). This software will be applied as an education tool to provide insight and increase both understanding of symptoms and empathy in students studying psychiatry, clinical psychology or general medicine.