Reality-based Program Research Articles

Impact of virtual reality and mirror therapy on balance, muscle strength and quality of life in children with unilateral cerebral palsy: a double blinded randomized comparative study

Background and Purpose This study aimed to compare between the impact of virtual reality and mirror therapy on balance, muscle strength and quality of life in unilateral cerebral palsy children. Materials and methods This study involved 36 children of both sexes with unilateral cerebral palsy. Their ages ranged between 6 to 10 years and their motor function ability fell between levels I and II on Growth Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS). Their grade of spasticity on Modified Ashworth scale was from 1+ to 2. They were allocated to one of two study groups (A and B). A designated physical rehabilitation program was given to both groups. furthermore, group A received a wii fit virtual reality-based program while, group B received mirror therapy. Children in both groups received treatment for three consecutive months, three days per week, 60 minutes per day. Balance, muscle strength and quality of life were assessed using biodex balance system, lafayette hand-held dynamometer and pediatric quality of life inventory cerebral palsy Module respectively for each child in two groups pre and post treatment program. Results Children in the two groups demonstrated a noticeable improvement in the post-treatment average scores of all evaluated outcomes (p 0.001) when compared to pre-treatment average scores. By comparing posttreatment values of both groups, group A showed a noticeably greater improvement than group B (p 0.05). Conclusions Both virtual reality and mirror therapy may be recommended to enhance balance, muscle strength and quality of life in children with unilateral cerebral palsy. Virtual reality is more beneficial in enhancing balance, muscular strength and quality of life among those children.

Efficacy of a virtual reality-based cognitive interactive training program for children with traumatic brain injuries: study protocol for a parallel-group randomized controlled trial

BackgroundTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability in children. Cognitive rehabilitation for this population is critical for their long-term health outcomes. This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of a virtual reality-based program (VICT) for training executive functions in children with TBI.MethodsA parallel group randomized controlled trial will be conducted among up to 32 children with TBI. Children in the intervention group will receive the VICT training while children in the control group will play a comparable VR game without executive function training. Each participant will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Outcomes will include core executive functions, attention, and health-related quality of life measured by computerized tasks or standardized questionnaires.DiscussionCognitive rehabilitation is among the top healthcare needs for pediatric TBI patients. Virtual reality-based training is promising due to its versatile content, flexibility, and potential cost savings for both patients and providers. Findings of this trial will provide data on the efficacy of the VICT program on core executive functions, attention problems, and health-related quality of life and serve as the empirical foundation for future larger multi-site effectiveness trials.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04526639. Registered on August 18, 2020.

EEG Evaluation in a Neuropsychological Intervention Program Based on Virtual Reality in Adults with Parkinson's Disease.

Nowadays, several strategies for treating neuropsychologic function loss in Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been proposed, such as physical activity performance and developing games to exercise the mind. However, few studies illustrate the incidence of these therapies in neuronal activity. This work aims to study the feasibility of a virtual reality-based program oriented to the cognitive functions’ rehabilitation of PD patients. For this, the study was divided into intervention with the program, acquisition of signals, data processing, and results analysis. The alpha and beta bands’ power behavior was determined by evaluating the electroencephalography (EEG) signals obtained during the execution of control tests and games of the “Hand Physics Lab” Software, from which five games related to attention, planning, and sequencing, concentration, and coordination were taken. Results showed the characteristic performance of the cerebral bands during resting states and activity states. In addition, it was determined that the beta band increased its activity in all the cerebral lobes in all the tested games (p-value < 0.05). On the contrary, just one game exhibited an adequate performance of the alpha band activity of the temporal and frontal lobes (p-value < 0.02). Furthermore, the visual attention and the capacity to process and interpret the information given by the surroundings was favored during the execution of trials (p-value < 0.05); thus, the efficacy of the virtual reality program to recover cognitive functions was verified. The study highlights implementing new technologies to rehabilitate people with neurodegenerative diseases.

Development of a conceptual framework for a Virtual Reality-based Seizure Management Education Program for Parents (VR-ESMEPP)

ObjectiveParents of children with epilepsy need support when managing epileptic seizures outside medical-care-center-settings. Previously developed training programs only provide information-based support. Therefore, within the scope of the VR-ESMEPP, a conceptual framework was developed in this study with the aim of developing parents’ skills and motivation as well as providing them information regarding seizure management. MethodsThe conceptual framework of the VR-ESMEPP was developed in four steps. In step 1, a scenario was developed wherein a pediatric patient with epilepsy is having a seizure. The selected seizure type was “Focal to bilateral tonic-clonic” seizure, which is the most common and most skill-intensive type of tonic–clonic-seizure. In step 2, data collection tools related to epileptic seizure management were developed for parents. These tools included Child and Parent Introductory Form, Parental Information Assessment Form for Epileptic Seizure Management, and Parental Skills Assessment Form for Epileptic Seizure Management. In step 3, the conceptual framework and data collection tools developed were confirmed by a group of 10 specialists consisting of physicians and pediatric nurses working in the field of pediatric neurology. In step 4, the epileptic-pediatric-patient-scenario and data collection tools confirmed by experts were programmed into an application by a software company and integrated into virtual reality headsets. ResultsVR-ESMEPP with the conceptual framework described in the present study is a valid virtual reality-based program, which can be carried out under nurses’ supervision and used to provide epilepsy-related education to parents. SignificanceVR-ESMEPP helped parents increase their knowledge and skills of epileptic seizure.

A clinical trial of a patient-customized virtual reality intervention for tinnitus

Virtual reality (VR) has recently been used as a clinical treatment because it can efficiently simulate situations that are difficult to control in real-world settings. In our study, we assessed the potential of VR in patients with chronic subjective tinnitus. An evaluation of its clinical benefits was performed based on analyses of patient electroencephalograms (EEGs) and by questionnaire responses after 6–8 weeks of patient involvement in our VR-based alleviation program. Clinical trials were performed at a tertiary academic hospital. Nineteen patients (aged 33–64 years) who visited our hospital with chronic subjective tinnitus over 3 months were enrolled in the study. The intervention consisted of trashing the tinnitus avatar in VR. We expected that the patients would have the subjective feeling of controlling tinnitus through our intervention. The VR environment comprised four different sessions in four different settings: a bedroom, a living room, a restaurant, and a city street. We analyzed changes in the source activities of the prefrontal regions related to tinnitus in these patients using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), the total score (from 50.11 to 44.21, P = 0.046) and the grade (from 3.16 to 2.79, P = 0.035) were significantly improved after the VR-based tinnitus treatment program (P < 0.05). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index also showed improved outcomes (P = 0.025). On the other hand, a Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire, Quality of Life Assessment (WHO-QOL), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Profile of Mood States revealed no significant change after the intervention. The baseline EEG data showed that brain activity in the orbitofrontal cortex significantly increased in the alpha and theta frequency bands. Furthermore, patients who showed a THI score improvement after the intervention showed specific increases in brain activity for the theta and high beta bands in the orbitofrontal cortex. Our findings suggest that the virtual reality-based program, as in parts of cognitive behavioral treatment, may help to alleviate tinnitus-related distress in patients with chronic subjective tinnitus.

Focus Group Findings to Support the Preliminary Development of the Augmented Reality Education Experience (AREduX).

Dementia is considered a global health priority with projections of the disease set to increase dramatically across the world. Current support for persons living with dementia (PLWD) relies on long-term care and local service centers to provide education and support. Augmented reality-based programs continue to gain momentum across health sectors, becoming an innovative approach that provides an opportunity to have a visceral experience, which can deepen understanding and provide an embodied perspective of other groups within a relatively short time frame. There is increasing interest in developing approaches to aid patient care outcomes for PLWD and their caregivers. Hence, healthcare providers (HCPs) who are appropriately trained and equipped to provide quality care to PLWD are essential and of international concern. The purpose of this research program is to develop an augmented reality (AR) education experience (AREduX), a proof of concept prototype in the form of a digital resource that uses AR to simulate the physical and cognitive symptoms that PLWD experience. The findings from a stakeholder focus group will allow for the preliminary development of the AREduX.

Roses and thorns: Political talk in reality TV subreddits

Most online media consumption is not driven by a desire to seek out news and politics. However, the public may still encounter politics because it arises organically in communities devoted to non-political subjects. This study examines the potential of popular reality television online discussion forums to serve as online third spaces and stimulate political discussion due to the natural connections that audiences make between the cast members and “real life” in reality-based programming. Based on a quantitative analysis of political comments made to reality television subreddits and a survey of visitors to a popular subreddit focused on The Bachelor television show, the findings not only demonstrate the ability of entertainment-focused online communities to expose a broad segment of the public to political talk, but also point to the obstacles in promoting political discussion that is simultaneously enjoyable, informative, and tolerant of diverse viewpoints.

Advanced Robot Programming: a Review

The review presents an overview of advanced robot programming approaches which aims to ease robot programming and speed up the deployment of industrial robots, and then some considerations are shared with respect to requirements in new trends of manufacturing. The new trend of customization along with Industry 4.0 is appearing which is a challenge for robotized systems. The bottleneck is mainly the efficiency of deployment of industrial robots because traditional programming methods are not intuitive and always time-consuming. Advanced robot programming techniques are expected to ease robot programming and make it accessible for non-experts. A review on advanced robot programming is here presented, firstly introducing the background of this research, followed by reviewing literatures in four categories: programming by demonstration for low-level motion, programming by demonstration for high-level task, speech recognition-based and augmented reality-based programming approaches, and finishing on discussing future works.

Educational Needs of Nursing Student in the Development of a Virtual Reality-Based Program for Medication Education

Educational Needs of Nursing Student in the Development of a Virtual Reality-Based Program for Medication Education

The Seductions of Crimesploitation: The Apprehension of Sex Offenders on Primetime Television

Reality television in the United States has often been understood to reinforce the punitive and neoliberal turns American political culture took in the late twentieth century. But in this article, we examine how it can work to unsettle as well as naturalize punitive and neoliberal ideologies. We do so via a case study of To Catch a Predator, a reality-based television program documenting the detection, legal apprehension, and extralegal punishment of adults seeking sex with teenagers. Both the appeal of the show and its susceptibility to the backlash that ultimately shut down its production, we argue, lay in a tacit invitation to viewers to imagine themselves as predators as well as parents or prosecutors.

Motor-prediction improvements after virtual rehabilitation in geriatrics: Frail patients reveal different learning curves for movement and postural control

Postural control associated with self-paced movement is critical for balance in frail older adults. The present work aimed to investigate the effects of a 2D virtual reality-based program on postural control associated with rapid arm movement in this population. Participants in an upright standing position performed rapid arm-raising movements towards a target. Practice-related changes were assessed by pre- and post-test comparisons of hand kinematics and centre-of-pressure (CoP) displacement parameters measured in a training group and a control group. During these pre- and post-test sessions, patients have to reach towards yellow balls appearing on the screen, form a standardized upright position (with 15cm between the two malleoli). Training group patients took part in six sessions of virtual game. In this, patients were asked to reach their arm towards yellow balls appearing on the screen, from an upright position. After training, we observed improvements in arm movements and in the initial phase of CoP displacement, especially in the anticipatory postural adjustments. Learning curves for these two types of motor improvements showed different rates. These were continuous for the control of the arm movement, and discontinuous for the control of the CoP during the anticipatory postural adjustments. These results suggest that some level of motor (re)-learning is maintained in frail patients with low functional reserves. They also suggest that re-learning of anticipatory postural control (i.e. motor prediction) is less robust than explicit motor learning involved for the arm reaching. This last point should encourage clinicians to extend the training course duration, even if reaching movement improvements seems acquired, in order to automate these anticipatory postural activities. However, other studies should be done to measure the retention of these two types of learning on a longer-term period.

Surviving Survivor: A Content Analysis of Antisocial Behavior and Its Context in a Popular Reality Television Show

The scope and nature of reality television has changed since researchers last conducted a content analysis of the antisocial behavior for this type of programming. This study examines the content of seven seasons of Survivor, one of America's longest running reality television programs, to determine the types, frequency, and context of antisocial behavior presented in the series as well as the possible effects of the program on longtime viewers using social learning and cultivation theories. In the 76.4 hours of programming analyzed for this study, 4,207 antisocial acts were documented in the coding database. Indirect aggression and verbal aggression were found to be the most frequently occurring types of antisocial behavior. The number (4,207) and the rate (45.7 acts per hour) of antisocial acts in the seven seasons of Survivor analyzed in this study is higher than the findings of a previous study of antisocial behavior in reality-based television conducted in 1997. This study clearly demonstrates that longtime viewers of Survivor get a higher dose of antisocial behavior than did regular viewers of news programming and other reality-based programs that aired slightly more than 10 years ago.

Educating youths to make safer choices: results of a program evaluation study.

Injuries are a leading cause of childhood death and disability. Many injuries are a result of youths taking risks and not avoiding risky situations. An educational program to reduce adolescent injury risk (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth) has operated out of the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton Canada since 1992. This reality-based program was evaluated to see if it was impacting program participants. An increase in correct answers for some knowledge, behavior, and attitude questions were found at one week and one month following this 1-day reality-based program. This program was thus considered as having some relevancy in educating grade-9 youths. Although a longitudinal study is needed to determine if this relevancy is long term, this study highlights the importance of reality-based public health programs.

Practice-Related Improvements in Postural Control During Rapid Arm Movement in Older Adults: A Preliminary Study

Postural control associated with self-paced movement is critical for balance in older adults. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a virtual reality-based program on the postural control associated with rapid arm movement in this population. From an upright standing position, participants performed rapid arm-raising movements toward a target. Practice-related changes were assessed by pre- and posttest comparisons of hand kinematics and center of pressure displacement parameters measured in a training group (mean age: 71.50 ± 2.67 years, n = 8) and a control group (mean age: 72.87 ± 3.09 years, n = 8). Training group participants took part in six sessions (35-40 minutes per session, three sessions per week). During the two test sessions, arm raising was analyzed under two conditions of stimuli: choice reaction time and simple reaction time. We observed improvements in the arm movement after training under both conditions of stimuli. The initial phase of the center of pressure displacement, especially the anticipatory postural adjustments, was improved in the choice reaction time condition. Our short training program resulted in motor optimization of the postural control associated with rapid arm movements, and this implies central changes in motor programming.

가정용 게임기를 이용한 가상 운동 프로그램이 여성 노인의 낙상관련 체력요인에 미치는 영향

가정용 게임기를 이용한 가상 운동 프로그램이 여성 노인의 낙상관련 체력요인에 미치는 영향

Portrayals of Childbirth: An Examination of Internet Based Media

More pregnant women turn to reality-based television programs and the Internet than to prenatal classes. Scant research examines the portrayal of childbirth in these new media. Although its impact is unknown, we do know that up to 20% of pregnant women fear giving birth; consequences include avoiding pregnancy, termination, depression, and increased maternal morbidity. Overall internet content tended to be contradictory but largely reflected two categories: natural and mainstream, with two different portrayals of childbirth. Natural sources focused on eliminating fear, discrediting hospital births, and promoting ‘alternative’ options such as homebirth and midwifery. Mainstream sources reinforced fears, discredited home births, reported statistics from studies, and employed misinformation. Popular Internet sources tended to have the goal of educating whereas media uncovered in the purposive searches tended towards entertainment goals. Conflicting and misinformation from the Internet may entrench rather than assuage fears. Women may become confused and develop a heavily biased representation of birth. This could strongly impact a woman’s approach to and experience of birth.

Reality Television Programming and Diverging Gratifications: The Influence of Content on Gratifications Obtained

The study explores how competition-based reality shows with different thematic content influence gratifications obtained by viewers. Participants completed surveys regarding their reasons for watching reality programs in general and their reasons for watching specific reality shows (The Apprentice, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, and Survivor). Results identified a new gratification dimension not previously observed in other gratifications research (personal utility), and that correlations exist between the specific content of reality-based programs and the gratifications obtained by the viewers.

Representations of Race in Reality TV: Watch and Discuss

In recent years, the televisual experience has been overwhelmed by reality-based programming—making it the most popular form of entertainment (Schroeder, 2006). Given its mass appeal with the US an...

Interventions to Prevent Adolescent Motor Vehicle Crashes

Adolescent injury and death from motor vehicle crashes continues to be a pressing public health concern. The adolescent age group present a unique challenge in terms of prevention because of their age and thought processes. Over the years, many intervention strategies have emerged to target prevention of motor vehicle crashes in this age group. Some have been more successful than others. When implementing intervention programs for their own communities, nurses must be aware of information regarding adolescent injury prevention in the literature. Reality-based prevention programs appear to be a promising intervention strategy to target motor vehicle crash prevention in adolescents.

The Development of a Practice-Driven, Reality-Based Program for Rural Acute Care Registered Nurses

Few education programs adequately prepare rural registered nurses (RNs) for "multispecialist" roles within small acute care facilities. This article describes the development of a post-RN rural acute care certificate program. To plan relevant curriculum and program delivery approaches, a series of focus groups were held with 236 rural RNs throughout British Columbia, Canada. The themes that emerged from RNs' descriptions of their everyday practice form the foundation of the new curriculum. The resulting program is practice driven and reality based, with a curriculum, teaching and learning strategies, and program delivery methods that are responsive to the learning needs of rural nurses.