Using VR-based interventions, wearable technology, and text mining to improve military and Veteran mental health

Abstract

Introduction: Virtual reality (VR)-based interventions, wearable technology and text mining hold promising poten tial for advancing the way in which military and Veteran mental health conditions are diagnosed and treated. Th ey have the ability to improve treatment protocol adherence, assist in the detection of mental health conditions, enhance resil ience and increase a patient's motivation to continue therapy. Methods : This article explores five cutting-edge research projects designed to leverage VR-based interventions, wearable technology, and text mining to improve military and Veteran mental health. A computer-animated virtual agent provides online coaching for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients in their own homes to enhance treatment compliance. A head-mounted display safely immerses PTSD patients in a virtual world to relive past experiences and associate them with new meanings. Gaming and simulation technology are tested as a way to improve resilience and performance in military members in deployment-related sce narios. Guidelines are developed for the creation of wearable assistive technology for military members and Veterans. Text mining is explored as a way to assist in the detection of PTSD. Results: VR-based therapy, gaming and simulation, wearable assistive and sensory technology, and text mining hold promise for diagnosing, monitoring, and treating mil itary mental health conditions. Discussion: Th e five research projects presented have made promising contributions to the field of military and Veteran mental health, either by advancing diagnostic trajectories, contributing to therapy or enhancing the process by developing new approaches to delivering preventive or curative care.

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“…Virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to uniquely contribute to enhancing resilience among refugees by offering immersive, interactive experiences to address various psychological challenges. For example, VR-based interventions could be utilised for exposure therapy in refugees with post-traumatic stress disorder, allowing them to confront and process traumatic memories in a safe, controlled environment (Rizzo & Shilling, 2017;Dellazizzo et al, 2020;Vermetten et al, 2020). Moreover, VR can facilitate cultural orientation and language learning for refugees adapting to new countries, providing them with virtual simulations of everyday situations, which can enhance their self-efficacy and coping skills (Bordnick et al, 2012).…”

Counter-Epidemiological Projections of e-Coaching

“…− Intelligent agent, also called intelligent Decision Support Assistant (DSA), is a well-identified trend in ecoaching. DSA can be embodied using, in particular, an avatar technology [14] for online coaching for posttraumatic stress disorder patients. In [60], an intelligent DSA was proposed for security applications.…”

“…Contemporary e-coaching is defined as an intelligent distributed computing system for performing health coaching tasks, in particular: observe the user, listen, and ask questions, use questioning techniques to identify problems and seeking solutions, facilitate real, lasting positive change, facilitate the exploration of needs, motivations, skills, and thought processes, and support the goal-setting and assessment [11], [12], [13], [14]. At least one of these tasks will be compromised by thestress state of the e-coaching user.…”

Wearable Technology and Women Empowerment in the Technology Industry

“…Marne et al (2016) demonstrated that future wearables would work with greater efficiency, accuracy, flexibility and enhanced privacy measures in order to carry out complex tasks. Previous researches have examined the applications of wearable technology across various fields: healthcare (Talukdar et al, 2019), forensic and clinical sciences (Ferreira et al, 2019), sports (Aroganam et al, 2019), biofeedback human skill-training (Shan, 2020), smart textiles (Mokhtari et al, 2020), infotainment (Sinnapolu & Alawneh, 2020), military and AR/VR industries (Vermetten et al, 2020), etc.…”