“There are specific considerations in adapting digital innovations to diverse populations and to safety-net healthcare settings that disproportionately care for them,” read the study. “We sought to elucidate the implementation climate specifically for VR,” it explained.

WHY IT MATTERS The research team sought to take a deeper look by interviewing healthcare providers, leaders and administrators from safety-net health systems and academic medical centers, along with one from a nonprofit regional tertiary medical center.

However, the researchers pointed out that many VR studies have been conducted in settings that serve “ethnically homogenous, relatively advantaged populations with high health literacy and educational attainment.” They found that frontline pain management clinicians and leaders are interested in VR, but that it will require significant adaptation – such as cultural tailoring and translation, along with usability testing – to address the specific needs of the diverse populations they serve.

As the study notes, clinicians have demonstrated interest in VR therapy as a safe and effective alternative for opioids when it comes to pain management. The research was a collaboration between S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech, a health equity incubation partner at UCSF, and AppliedVR, a platform that provides therapeutic VR for pain management.

“There is a tremendous unmet need in the U.S. to deliver evidence-based digital therapeutics to the broader population,” said Dr. Urmimala Sarkar, lead author on the study, UCSF professor of medicine and cofounder of S.O.L.V.E. Health Tech, in a statement. “The participants cited integration into complex workflows, structural costs and reimbursement concerns as major concerns to implementing and scaling VR use,” wrote the researchers.

THE LARGER TREND Virtual reality, and, more broadly, extended reality, offer a range of opportunities for enhancing healthcare and patient engagement, especially in a remote care setting. “But, it will require collaboration across industries to overcome the hurdles that stand in the way of wider adoption, including commitments from payers for more reimbursement and adapted content that tailors to the needs of diverse populations,” Sarkar continued.

News Highlights Health

• Virtual reality for pain management has potential, but obstacles remain
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