Front Line Access to Multi-sensory E-PTSD (FLAME) Digital Therapies to improve mental health

在严重的资源限制下，治疗多名重症患者、对患者进行分诊以挽救患者，会付出高昂的情感代价。卫生保健工作者正在与一种已知无法治愈的致命、高度传染性疾病进行长期斗争。2003年SARS爆发后，许多医护人员报告了高度的压力、焦虑和抑郁症状，这些症状对心理产生了长期影响。同样，直接参与COVID-19患者护理的一线医护人员也面临出现创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）等精神健康症状的风险。创伤后应激障碍是由目睹或经历实际或威胁的死亡、严重伤害或暴力引起的。它造成巨大痛苦，在正常情况下难以治疗，在大流行情况下更难治疗。2020年3月发表的一项横断面研究发现，在34家医院管理Covid-19的1257名医护人员中，50.4%的人报告有抑郁症状，44.6%的人有焦虑症状，34%的人有失眠症状，71.5%的人有痛苦。过去的研究表明，超过三分之一的一线急救人员有PTSD症状。它影响到个人（抑郁）、他们的家庭（关系紧张）、他们的同事（效率下降）、医院（资源减少），并具有经济成本。雇主有义务保护其雇员免受已知的对其身心健康的威胁。可悲的是，精神疾病的诊断实践执行得很差，NHS几乎不存在患者分层。nhs批准的治疗创伤后应激障碍的方法包括认知行为疗法（CBT），以及最近的眼动脱敏和再处理（EMDR）。这些都很难通过远程医疗来实现，这加强了预防的重要性。研究支持将虚拟现实用于包括创伤后应激障碍在内的焦虑症，因为它既可以评估恐惧反应，也可以进行恢复力训练。然而，传统的虚拟现实治疗需要一名治疗师在房间里监控患者，并确保他们不会变得不知所措。由于大流行的情况使治疗师无法前往医院，我们的EmteqVR解决方案提供了两全其美的解决方案：实时感知情绪反应，从而消除了治疗师在同一房间的需要，以及一系列分级的类似生活的暴露，而无需旅行。对于这个项目，我们的应用程序可以在用户遇到压力时提前发出警告。之后会整合到我们的VR治疗平台中。

There is a high emotional cost of treating multiple severely ill patients, triaging those to save, whilst working under severe resource constraints. Health care workers are engaged in a prolonged battle against a deadly, highly contagious illness with no known cure. Following the 2003 SARS outbreak, many health care workers reported high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, which had long-term psychological implications. Similarly, frontline healthcare workers directly involved in care of patients with COVID-19 are at risk of developing mental health symptoms including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).?PTSD is caused by witnessing or experiencing actual or threatened death, serious injury or violence. It causes tremendous suffering, is difficult to treat under normal circumstances, and is even more difficult to treat under pandemic situations. A cross-sectional research study published in March 2020 found that of 1257 health care workers managing Covid-19 in 34 hospitals, 50.4% reported symptoms of depression, 44.6% symptoms of anxiety, 34% insomnia, and 71.5% reported distress.?Past research shows that over a **third** of front line responders experience symptoms of PTSD. It affects the individual (depression), their family (strained relationships), their colleagues (loss of effectiveness), the hospital (reduced resources) and has an economic cost.Employers have an obligation to protect their employees from known threats to their physical and mental well being. Sadly, diagnostic practices for mental illnesses are poorly implemented and patient stratification is almost non- existent in the NHS. NHS-approved therapies for PTSD include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and more recently Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). These are difficult to deliver and suboptimal via telemedicine, which reinforces the importance of preventionStudies have supported the use of virtual reality for anxiety disorders including PTSD as it allows both the assessment of fear responses, and resilience training. However, traditionally-delivered VR therapy needs a therapist in the room to monitor the patient and ensure that there do not become overwhelmed.?As pandemic circumstances preclude therapists from travelling to hospitals, our EmteqVR solution provides the best of both worlds: real-time sensing of emotional responses to negate the need for a therapist to be in the same room, and a range of graded life-like exposures without the need to travel. For this project, our app will allow earlier warning of when users are experiencing stress. Later this will be integrated into our VR therapy platform.