About this Research Topic
The World Health Organization has been increasingly recognizing the important role of mental health to achieve global development goals. Mental health refers to a multitude of conditions that involve different periods of an individual's life, which in many cases can prove very impactful. For instance, depression is one of the leading causes of disability, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds, and dementia is one of the most increasing pathologies among the elderly population, to name a few. Recently, the problem has been exacerbated due to the pandemic event. The WHO also pointed out that despite progress in some countries, people
with mental health conditions often experience discrimination and stigma. Virtual reality, augmented reality, gamification and serious games have been found to be effective as a basis for setting an intervention in other psychological fields like in neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., dyslexia) and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Early detection of mental health conditions is of the utmost importance to respond significantly and deliver preventive interventions, especially for those pathologies for which current pharmacological treatments are only symptomatic and drugs or other therapies are ineffective in slowing down the process. The decreasing costs and increasing quality of head-mounted displays have recently paved the way for applying virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for the treatment of mental health disorders with very promising results. Also, VR/AR technologies, gamification and serious games can represent effective technologies both for massive low-cost screening and for tailor-made treatment interventions. In particular, the use of VR/AR technologies can allow a greater degree of anonymity, creating low stress and emotional impact situations, than the conventional environments that usually characterize the health systems. Moreover, VR/AR, gamification and serious game interventions can improve individual outcomes (e.g., learning, cognitive, and behavioral) by enhancing motivation and users’ engagement. Finally, these instruments due to their engagement could be able to reduce the considerable risk of drop-out typically found in mental health and psychological interventions.
The goal of this special issue is to provide an opportunity for ICT and Health researchers to submit their interdisciplinary Virtual/Augmented Reality and Gamification/Serious game contributions focusing on solutions for screening and treatment of mental health and psychological related conditions. In particular, we welcome submissions of original research and reviews on the following list of non-exhaustive topics:
• Consensus and acceptance in using VR/AR and gamification/serious game solutions in mental health
treatment
• Telemedicine for mental health based on remote VR/AR solutions
• Design and evaluation of VR/AR solutions for the screening and/or treatment of mental health conditions
• Design and evaluation of gamification/serious game solutions for psychological interventions in broad psychological contexts (e.g., developmental, ageing, education)
• Case studies reporting the use of VR/AR and gamification/serious game in mental health
• Socio-cultural and economic impact of VR/AR solutions for mental health screening and treatment
• Other topics related to VR/AR and gamification/serious game use in mental health
with mental health conditions often experience discrimination and stigma. Virtual reality, augmented reality, gamification and serious games have been found to be effective as a basis for setting an intervention in other psychological fields like in neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., dyslexia) and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Early detection of mental health conditions is of the utmost importance to respond significantly and deliver preventive interventions, especially for those pathologies for which current pharmacological treatments are only symptomatic and drugs or other therapies are ineffective in slowing down the process. The decreasing costs and increasing quality of head-mounted displays have recently paved the way for applying virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for the treatment of mental health disorders with very promising results. Also, VR/AR technologies, gamification and serious games can represent effective technologies both for massive low-cost screening and for tailor-made treatment interventions. In particular, the use of VR/AR technologies can allow a greater degree of anonymity, creating low stress and emotional impact situations, than the conventional environments that usually characterize the health systems. Moreover, VR/AR, gamification and serious game interventions can improve individual outcomes (e.g., learning, cognitive, and behavioral) by enhancing motivation and users’ engagement. Finally, these instruments due to their engagement could be able to reduce the considerable risk of drop-out typically found in mental health and psychological interventions.
The goal of this special issue is to provide an opportunity for ICT and Health researchers to submit their interdisciplinary Virtual/Augmented Reality and Gamification/Serious game contributions focusing on solutions for screening and treatment of mental health and psychological related conditions. In particular, we welcome submissions of original research and reviews on the following list of non-exhaustive topics:
• Consensus and acceptance in using VR/AR and gamification/serious game solutions in mental health
treatment
• Telemedicine for mental health based on remote VR/AR solutions
• Design and evaluation of VR/AR solutions for the screening and/or treatment of mental health conditions
• Design and evaluation of gamification/serious game solutions for psychological interventions in broad psychological contexts (e.g., developmental, ageing, education)
• Case studies reporting the use of VR/AR and gamification/serious game in mental health
• Socio-cultural and economic impact of VR/AR solutions for mental health screening and treatment
• Other topics related to VR/AR and gamification/serious game use in mental health
Keywords: Psychological Interventions, Cognitive Decline, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Gamification, Serious Game, Mental Health
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
