SBIR Phase I: Using Immersive Virtual Reality For High-Quality Training to Caregivers Working With Seniors

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的广泛影响/商业潜力将对通过新的虚拟现实（VR）帮助老年护理人员最佳地了解和应对老年人的认知变化具有重要意义。该项目将产生一个高质量，有效的培训模块，帮助老年护理人员最佳地了解和应对老年人的认知变化。这将提高护理人员的能力、信心和积极性，并有助于减少人员流失率。该解决方案将使护理人员能够有效地照顾老年人的需求，从而提高老年人的生活质量，促进“就地老龄化”，从而有助于提高老年人的福祉，减轻老龄化的社会成本。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目解决了开发VR内容的技术挑战，该内容有效地促进了护理人员的知识获取、技能发展和动机的增加，同时保持培训体验相对简短和高效。与简单的记忆信息不同，积极的心理结果，如增强的动机，是具有挑战性的。本项目将策略性地在虚拟现实培训的关键环节运用电影导演技术，这是一种全新的虚拟现实培训方式。该解决方案利用认知神经科学的学习原理，在VR内容设计、分析和交付方面进行创新。研究目标包括：(1)构建一个以教授同理心和沟通技巧为中心的沉浸式VR培训模块，并加入电影导演元素；(2)评估开发内容在短期和长期内达到预期效果的可用性和可行性；(3)构建和评估一个以教授老年护理人员观察和行为技能为中心的VR培训模块，其中包含嵌入的交互式测试元素。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be significant for helping senior caregivers optimally understand and respond to cognitive changes in older adults through a new Virtual Reality (VR) The project will result in a high-quality, effective training module for helping senior caregivers optimally understand and respond to cognitive changes in older adults. This will enhance the competence, confidence, and motivation of their nursing staff, and help reduce staff turnover. The solution will empower caregivers to effectively attend to the needs of the elderly in a way that enhances seniors’ quality-of-life and facilitates ‘aging in place,’ hence contributing towards increasing well-being among the elderly population and alleviating the societal costs of aging.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the technical challenge of developing VR content that effectively promotes caregiver knowledge acquisition, skill development, and motivation increases, while keeping the training experience relatively brief and efficient. Unlike simple memorization of information, positive psychological outcomes like enhanced motivation are challenging to generate. This project will strategically employ cinematic directing techniques at key points in the VR training - a new approach to VR training. The solution leverages principles from the cognitive neuroscience of learning to deliver innovations in VR content design, analysis and delivery. Research objectives include: (1) building an engaging VR training module centered around teaching empathy and communication skills, which is enhanced with cinematic directing elements, (2) assessing the usability and feasibility of the developed content for achieving the desired outcomes in the short- and long-term, (3) building and assessing a VR training module centered around teaching observation and behavioral skills to senior caregivers, which includes embedded interactive testing elements.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.