Virtual reality in health communication

Novotny, Eric (former Grady postdoc) & Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn (2023). “Virtual reality in health communication,”in E. Ho, C. L. Bylund, & J. C. M. van Weert, I. Basnyat, N. Bol, & M. Dean (Eds.). International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Wiley.

Abstract: VR has surfaced as a powerful tool for health communication. Immersion, interactivity, and social interactions are benefits of VR made possible by unique features not found in traditional communication modalities. The burgeoning field of social VR promises to improve training and treatment in health contexts. Though the production of effective VR for healthcare training and treatment is currently limited by the cost of development and the sophistication of the technology, the trajectory of recent developments signals that VR may be at the cusp of being used as a ubiquitous communication tool.