Levelling up health literacy through VR innovations

Harnessing the power of virtual reality technology, a team at the Drug and Alcohol Service have developed interactive and immersive education modules that enable users to see, hear and engage with the harmful effects of vaping on the body.

This health education initiative is a far cry from traditional health literacy resources such as pamphlets and videos which Dr Karen Fisher, Clinical Director for the Drug and Alcohol Service, says often fail to resonate with young people.

“Young people are brilliant users of new technology and they have a world of information at their fingertips.”

“To engage them in an emerging space with rapidly changing evidence, such as e-cigarettes and vaping, we must deliver honest and dynamic information that’s regularly revised. If we create materials that are fixed in print and cannot be updated, they’re quite rightly going to mistrust us,” says Karen.

The digital solution is a virtual reality experience delivered via a headset, that allows consumers to complete education modules which demonstrate the health impacts of vaping in an immersive and visceral way.

Paediatrician, Dr Malini Rajandran explains, “The program gives users the chance to investigate a brain and lungs that have been affected by vaping while also learning about the potentially harmful substances in e-cigarettes.”

Staff Specialist in Addiction Medicine, Dr Prasun Datta says the novelty of a virtual reality headset offers an effective hook that encourages youth engagement with the health education materials.

“Our idea was to gamify the way we present the information and that makes the program much more appealing for client engagement. It’s an intervention that young people enjoy taking part in.”

To make this project a reality, the Drug and Alcohol team has undertaken a three-year long collaboration with tech innovation company, Mobiddiction, whose international team conducted extensive work to refine the language and visuals applied in the health messaging.

“Mobiddiction have been invaluable to this project. Their technological expertise has made the project possible, but their care and consideration for the information and our audience is what has made this such a quality health literacy tool,” says Malini.

Following funding from the NSW Government’s Statewide Health Literacy Hub, the pilot project is being rolled out with young clients of NBMLHD’s Drug and Alcohol Service.

The team hope to one day expand their project to schools and public spaces as an early intervention and prevention tool.

“The virtual reality headsets work without wi-fi and internet access, which means we can take this project anywhere and everywhere,” says Prasun.

Beyond e-cigarette education, the team know this innovative project has the potential for much broader public health applications, with the model able to be adapted to address health matters such as sexually transmitted illness or drug use.

“If a health trend emerges that needs rapid action, we’ve now got the potential to swiftly adapt the education modules,” Karen says.

“We’re looking at being able to perform very quick interventions, delivering preventative health messages around sensitive topics in a way that’s safe and engaging for young people.”