Co-Design and Development of a Virtual Reality Experience for Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer

项目目的本项目旨在调查虚拟现实(VR)在帮助青少年和年轻人患癌症方面的潜在用途。这项研究将采取联合设计的方法，青少年和患有癌症的年轻人将帮助研究人员设计一种虚拟现实干预措施，以帮助癌症途径的特定部分。此外，该项目还将与大奥蒙德街医院的临床医生和利益相关者接触，以帮助洞察目前阻碍虚拟现实技术在国家卫生系统内开发和部署的挑战。背景和动态虚拟现实在外科培训、康复、暴露治疗和作为一种分心机制方面显示出巨大的成功[1]。VR可以模拟让用户实时沉浸在其中的交互式3D环境，有证据表明，VR中的用户的身体、认知和行为状态与现实生活中的状态相当。近年来，研究人员在癌症治疗的不同阶段实施了虚拟现实[3]。虚拟现实已被用于住院患者和接受化疗的患者的逃避，显示出成功地降低了与癌症相关的症状，如焦虑、疲劳和抑郁[4]。研究还调查了在痛苦或漫长的过程中使用虚拟现实作为分心机制的效果[3，5]。虽然许多研究探索了VR在整个治疗过程中帮助癌症患者的使用，但大多数干预措施都是理论驱动的，设计时并没有考虑到最终用户。这些干预措施采取了一种概括性的方法，对接受癌症治疗的人做出全面的判断，这种方法已经证明会对心理肿瘤治疗产生负面影响[7]。越来越多的证据--主要来自人机交互领域--建议将服务用户和利益攸关方纳入卫生干预措施的设计和开发过程。这确保了产品适合用途、有用，并最终赋予服务用户权力。因此，该项目旨在通过共同设计推动当前对青少年和患有癌症的青少年使用虚拟现实干预的研究。我们热衷于研究虚拟现实的用途，超越分心干预，并探索可能为癌症患者提供临床好处的应用程序。联合设计的方法将包括在设计研讨会和焦点小组会议上与青少年癌症信托基金的年轻人积极参与和设计。这将有助于确定虚拟现实是否以及在哪里可以受益，并确保开发的应用程序反映预期服务用户的需求。通过让患者、临床医生和多个NHS机构的利益相关者参与进来，该项目将受益于癌症临床路径的多样化和整体性视角。项目结构研究项目将分为三个关键阶段：第一阶段-确定关键干预领域(案头研究和利益相关者访谈)第二阶段-与癌症年轻人迭代共同设计研讨会。第三阶段-VR体验开发和评估。

Project AimsThis project aims to investigate the potential use of virtual reality (VR) in assisting teenagers and young adults with cancer. This research will take a co-design approach where teenagers and young people with cancer will help researchers design a virtual reality intervention to assist in a specific part of the cancer pathway. Along with this, the project will involve engaging with clinicians and stakeholders from Great Ormond Street Hospital to help provide insight into the current challenges hindering the development and deployment of VR technologies within the NHS.Background and MotivationVR has shown great success in surgical training, rehabilitation, exposure therapy and as a distraction mechanism [1]. VR can simulate interactive 3D environments that immerse users in real-time with evidence demonstrating that the users physical, cognitive and behavioural states within VR are comparable to that in real life [2]. In recent years, researchers have implemented VR during different phases of cancer treatment [3]. VR has been used as an escapism for hospitalised patients and for people undergoing chemotherapy, showing success in lowering cancer-related symptoms such as anxiety, fatigue and depression [4]. Studies have also investigated the effects of using virtual reality as a distraction mechanism during painful or long procedures [3, 5]. Whilst many of the studies have explored the use of VR in assisting people with cancer throughout treatment, most of the interventions delivered are theory-driven and are not designed with the end user in mind. The interventions take a generalised approach and make sweeping judgments about people undergoing cancer treatment, a method which has shown to negatively affect psycho-oncological treatments [7]. There is mounting evidence, mostly from the Human Computer Interaction field, recommending that service users and stakeholders be included in the design and development process of health interventions. This ensures that products are fit for purpose, useful and ultimately empower the service users. This project therefore aims to advance current research into the use of virtual reality interventions for teenagers and young people with cancer through co-design. We are keen to investigate uses of virtual reality that go beyond distraction interventions and explore applications that may offer clinical benefit to people with cancer. The co-design approach will involve actively engaging and designing with young people from the Teenage Cancer Trust in design workshops and focus group sessions. This will help identify if and where virtual reality could be of benefit and ensure that the application developed reflects the needs of the intended service users. By involving patients, clinicians and stakeholders across multipleNHS facilities, the project will benefit from a diverse and holistic view of the cancer clinical pathway. Project StructureThe research project will be divided into three key phases: Phase 1 - Identify key intervention areas (desk research and stakeholder interviews)Phase 2 - Iterative co-design workshops with young people with cancer.Phase 3 - VR experience development and evaluation.