Life at 100.4: An Immersive Social Virtual Reality Education Tool for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Caregivers
Summary
The purpose of this study is to design and Beta test the Life at 100.4, an immersive social virtual reality education tool, with an anticipated 5 patient-caregiver-provider triads.Patients at Yale Pediatric Hematology and Oncology with a new oncologic diagnosis and their caregivers will be eligible for enrollment. Investigators will determine the feasibility and acceptability of implementing Life at 100.4 using validated measures.
Detailed description
Febrile neutropenia, a condition marked by fever and low numbers of neutrophils, is the most commonly encountered complication of childhood cancer treatment. The mortality of untreated febrile neutropenia is as high as 30%. Delay of appropriate care and increased time to antibiotics are associated with increased mortality. Reasons for delay to care include a lack of understanding about the seriousness of febrile neutropenia or difficulty navigating the healthcare system. Effective, and evidence-based educational experiences can reduce morbidity and mortality rates related to febrile neutropenia. This proposal aims to combat knowledge gaps surrounding febrile neutropenia through the creation of an immersive social VR-based intervention, Life at 100.4. This program will provide critical education to patients and caregivers related to febrile neutropenia during cancer treatment. This work will result in the development of a critical new tool specific to febrile neutropenia while establishing VR more broadly as an effective patient and caregiver education tool, particularly for the near 40% of the population with low health literacy. Objective 1 will include a qualitative study comprising interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders conducted by the Yale team to understand attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge around the navigation of febrile neutropenia. Objective 2 will be the production of a VR-based prototype. Objective 3, the focus of this registration, will assess feasibility and usability of this education tool.
Arms & interventions
- BehavioralLife at 100.4
An Immersive Social Virtual Reality Education Tool, participation up to 2 hours
Outcome measures
Primary
Multimodal Presence Scale for Virtual Environments
A 15-item validated tool to assess presence in VR. There are five items for each of the three dimensions, Physical Presence, Social Presence, and Self-Presence, scored on a 5-point Likert scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Total score for each dimension 1-5 with higher scores indicating a stronger sense of presence in that dimension.
Time frame: immediately post-intervention, up to 2 hours
System Usability Scale (SUS)
A 10-item questionnaire with responses provided on a Likert scale. The SUS has been applied in evaluating the usability of different websites, software, and human computer interfaces. The final score is on a scale of 0-100. Higher scores indicate more usability.
Time frame: immediately post-intervention, up to 2 hours
Technology Acceptance Model (TAC)
Technology Acceptance Model questionnaire with questions related to Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use. Total score range 1-5 with higher scores indicating higher acceptance and use.
Time frame: immediately post-intervention, up to 2 hours
Eligibility criteria
Study locations (1)
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic in Smilow Cancer Hospital
New Haven, Connecticut, 06520