Events

Justin Berry will be moderating the panel "How Tabletop RPGs Can Build and Support Communities" at Games For Change 2024 with speakers that include XRPeds collaborator Dr. Nicolas Meade, game designer Timothy Grant, and Dr. Brian Quinones.

Dr. Veronica Weser, Research Scientist at XRPeds, will be co-presenting a workshop titled "Let's Get Real: Using Virtual and Extended Reality for IPC Training and Education" alongside Andrea S. Greenfield and Chloe V. Green at APIC 2024.

There is a demonstrated need for effective, affordable, and accessible IPC training tools that facilitate collaboration, learning, and competency assessment for frontline HCP. Virtual Reality (VR) provides a layer of immersion that traditional pictures, videos, textbooks, in-person lectures and traditional web-based learning management systems do not provide. Presenters will describe foundational principles of use of VR in healthcare training as well as their experience building and piloting VR IPC training for HCP. Presenters will first outline the relevant literature on IPC education, simulation, and outcomes from VR education. Presenters will then discuss the design choices they have made and why, the challenges and successes they have experienced in the building and implementation of VR training, and the outcomes observed.

Postdoctoral Associate Kanu Priya Singh will be presenting at the Society for Prevention Research 32nd Annual Meeting on behalf of the Invite Only VR’s team, titled “Nicotine and Cannabis Vaping on School Grounds: Perceptions of CT Middle School Teachers, Administrators, and Staff" in Washington DC on May 28th.

Drs. Hieftje, Marks, and Weser and postgraduate associate Mona Sinha traveled to Los Angeles during the final week of March to attend vMed 2024 and present a poster entitled "NICU Stakeholder Input to Inform Content of a Virtual Reality Infection Prevention Educational Experience Targeting NICU Patient Families."

Drs. Hieftje and Marks will be participating in a panel discussion with Innerworld founder and CEO Noah Robinson about using VR for child mental health. The event will be livestreamed on Youtube at 5:30 PM ET and via Innerworld (rsvp link here).

Postdoctoral associate Erin J.K. Truesdell will be showing her collaborative alternative-control game Haber Dasher as part of the Indie Arcade exhibition at MAGFest 2024. Keep an eye out for her gigantic bowler hat controller on the show floor.

Drs. Hieftje and Marks presented on our work at XRPeds and the new Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics at an event hosted at Mass General Brigham in a talk titled "XR and Kids: Design and Implementation Considerations." In their talk, they covered the expansion of XRPeds and the foundation of the new Center, and the triumphs and challenges of expanding access to immersive technologies within the Yale community.

Dr. Hieftje will be discussing ethical considerations related to mental healthcare when providing “therapy” without a therapist with some amazing folks at ABCT 57th Annual Convention in Seattle on Nov 17.

Drs. Kimberly Hieftje, Steve Hollon, Skip Rizzo, Iony D. Ezawa, and PhD. Candidate Noah Robinson presented strategies and considerations on using virtual spaces to deliver peer-based support for survivors of trauma at the ISTSS Pre-Conference Workshop.

Catch Dr. Hieftje's talk at Serious Play 2023! Dr. Hieftje will be discussing Debugged, a virtual reality (VR) game funded by the CDC designed to improve infection control behaviors among NICU parents. DeBugged leverages known strategies to enhance retention and efficacy of training through an immersive, hands-on educational experience.