Last updated 2024-10-22T18:55:49Z

Immersive Technology to Impact Chronic Pain and Suicide Prevention

VHA Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL)'s VA Immersive, in conjunction with VA providers at 60 VA facilities, collaborated with Penumbra, Inc. to provide virtual reality (VR) headsets to Veterans to address chronic pain and suicide prevention. This project has two phases. Phase 1, which began in late 2022, involved Veterans utilizing VR headsets with pre-existing mindfulness and relaxation content to improve their physical and mental health. Phase 2, which began in Q1 of fiscal year 2023, consisted of designing, developing, testing and validating new VA-specific content. This virtual, immersive content includes triggering in vivo experiences for Veterans with mental health related diagnoses like post-traumatic stress or phobias. The entirety of Phase 2 was completed in collaboration with VA clinical experts who aided in determining all aspects of the virtual environments to best meet the clinical need for improved access to in vivo exposure therapies. OHIL is working hard to co-develop VA-specific content to ensure Veterans and VA staff members find the content useful, relevant and impactful for Veteran health care.

Origin:

September 2022, Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center (Huntington, West Virginia), Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Loma Linda, California), Seattle VA Medical Center

Adoptions:

55 successful

Overview

Problem

Veterans often face mental health challenges upon return to civilian life and the impact on their overall well-being is significant. Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, chronic pain and other related conditions that are difficult to address on an individual level. A lack of treatment can lead to suicidal thou ... Veterans often face mental health challenges upon return to civilian life and the impact on their overall well-being is significant. Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, chronic pain and other related conditions that are difficult to address on an individual level. A lack of treatment can lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. The number of Veterans in need of mental health support continues to rise and certain types of therapy, like in vivo exposure therapy, can be difficult to provide due to Veterans’ distance and financial constraints and/or time limitations for completing provider-assigned “homework.” See more

Solution

The collaboration between Penumbra, Inc. and VA Immersive bridges that gap between Veterans and access to effective solutions to supplement mental health therapy provision. The innovation gives mental health and non-mental health providers access to a solution to utilize with patients impacted by chronic pain, PTSD, phobias or other diagnoses that may cause ... The collaboration between Penumbra, Inc. and VA Immersive bridges that gap between Veterans and access to effective solutions to supplement mental health therapy provision. The innovation gives mental health and non-mental health providers access to a solution to utilize with patients impacted by chronic pain, PTSD, phobias or other diagnoses that may cause an increased risk of suicide. Additionally, VR-based in vivo exposure environments provide increased access to a needed a therapy both within VA facilities and for use in Veterans’ homes. See more

Results

This pilot is emerging, and results will be updated as data is collected.

Metrics

130+ unique Veterans impacted thus far.
300+ VR sessions completed.

Diffusion tracker

Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)

There are no in-progress adoptions for this innovation.

There are no unsuccessful adoptions for this innovation.

Implementation

Core Resources

Resource type	Resource description
PEOPLE	Please reach out to VAImmersive@va.gov.

Optional Resources

Resource type	Resource description
TOOLS	Penumbra Health’s REAL x-Series VR Headset. National Reminder Dialogue Template to track patient outcomes.

Contact

Comment

Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.

Email

Email vaimmersive@va.gov with questions about this innovation.

About

Origin story

Veterans often face mental health challenges upon returning to civilian life and the impact on their overall well-being can be significant. Many Veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, depression, anxiety, chronic pain and other related conditions that are difficult to address on an individual level. A lack of treatment, inadequa ... Veterans often face mental health challenges upon returning to civilian life and the impact on their overall well-being can be significant. Many Veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, depression, anxiety, chronic pain and other related conditions that are difficult to address on an individual level. A lack of treatment, inadequately addressing these symptoms, can lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. While the number of Veterans in need of mental health support continues to rise, immersive technology provides a unique mode of extending the footprint of the medical centers. By offering interventions for both on-site and at-home use, both mental health and non-mental health providers offer versatilely through immersive technology therapies. The VA and VA Immersive, through support from the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, sought to develop and implement a solution that allows for many disciplines to engage with Veterans to impact their mental health. Additionally, VA co-developed virtual environments to make it easier to access in vivo exposure to aid mental health providers’ treatment.

Search tags

Access to Care Extended Reality (XR) Mental Health Moving Forward Nursing Psychiatry Whole Health

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