Know How VR is Addressing Inequities in Healthcare sector

The new trend of VR in healthcare is advantageous in all aspects. Virtual Reality has been used by the healthcare sector for various kinds of treatments such as robotic surgeries, mental health, and psychological therapies, pain management and physical therapies, medical marketing, and disease awareness.

With great power to curb healthcare expenses by streamlining delivery and cutting down on waste spending, virtual care has been increasing day by day.  To increase the VR application in all diversities and to address inequalities in the healthcare sector, a team at the Eastern Michigan University (EMU) came up with this where the medical staff is being trained how to deliver "culturally competent" care to Asian Americans by lending hand to the community.  EMU School of Nursing was awarded $72,000 to develop a VR program targeting health inequalities affecting Asian Americans.

Healthcare workers are capable of improving health outcomes and quality of care by understanding better the social and cultural needs of the patients. These programs have been organized by the EMU as Asian Americans face certain barriers in accessing healthcare and at times, health care workers are not aware of those disparities and risk exacerbating them.

In the Virtual Reality program, nurses can simulate interactions and also learn at the same time with their experiences. This becomes the key component of EMU's leadership in being empathic and sensitive to the inequalities.

Dr. Tsu-Yin Wu, director of the Centre of Health Disparities Innovation and Studies at EMU, has been a significant contributor in improving the quality of care for the Asian American community in Detroit.

In the coming days, VR will be used more and more to improve health conditions by making inclusive developments of all the communities. As the potential for Vr in the healthcare sector is huge.