Using VR to Address Social Determinants of Health

It is estimated that up to 70% of variation in health outcomes and higher rates of hospitalizations are attributable to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), which include factors such as housing, income, employment and education. Although SDoH screening during medical visits had been adopted by many health systems, medical education continues to be focused primarily on identification and treatment of disease at the individual level. Trainees are often under-equipped to address patients’ Health Related Social Needs (HRSN) and are led to believe that SDoH are beyond the scope of clinical practice.

It is critical that emerging health care providers understand the impact of SDoH on their patients and have the tools necessary to identify and mitigate these challenges. Social workers (SW), are trained explicitly to address social needs in addition to health conditions, spanning health care delivery settings and the broader community. The first stage of this pilot project proposed to assess whether a virtual reality (VR) learning environment can increase medical, physician assistant (PA), and social work students’ confidence in their ability to refer, advocate and ultimately mitigate HRSNs. The results revealed that both MD and PA students learned patient engagement strategies from SW students, while the latter enhanced their healthcare leadership capacity. Participants valued hands-on virtual interprofessional training and expressed interest in learning more about the scope of one another’s roles and community resources available to patients.

In the second phase of this pilot, the project team will continue to study whether creating a VR interdisciplinary learning environment in which students can collaboratively grapple with virtual scenarios will both enhance their understanding of SDoH and associated HRSNs, as well as promote their ability to engage in collaborative problem solving with diverse health care professionals. The pilot has expanded to include nutrition students and focuses on a pediatrics scenario that will be explored by over 200 students from the various disciplines mentioned above. Additionally, the role of the patient will no longer be played exclusively by the faculty – an AI-powered non-playable character will be developed to help students practice their skills. 

Extending through Spring 2023, the pilot seeks to facilitate co-learning by allowing trainees to engage in task-oriented group work in VR and subsequently apply their skills in the clinical environment. The outcomes of the pilot will continue to be shared as they become available.

In The News

June, 2022 AZoRobotics: Virtual Reality Can Be Adapted to Tackle Social Determinants of Health

May, 2020 BU Today coverage: Real Doctors. Real Social Workers. Virtual Patients.

March, 2020: The Using VR to Address Social Determinants of Health Incubator project was featured at the Spring 2020 Teaching with XR Faculty Demonstration and Exploration series.

Project Team & Partners

Pablo Buitron de la Vega, MS, MSc

Project Team pbuitro1@bu.edu

-- Please select a member -- Pablo Buitron de la Vega, MS, MSc, Project Team Linda Sprague Martinez, Ph.D, Project Team Aliza Stern, MMSc, PA-C, Project Team Rachel Thompson, MD, Project Team Heather Miselis, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Project Team Stacey Zawacki, DrPH, RDN, Project Team Immersive Health Group, Partner

• Pablo Buitron de la Vega, MS, MSc Project Team
• Linda Sprague Martinez, Ph.D Project Team
• Aliza Stern, MMSc, PA-C Project Team
• Rachel Thompson, MD Project Team
• Heather Miselis, MD, MPH, FAAFP Project Team
• Stacey Zawacki, DrPH, RDN Project Team
• Immersive Health Group Partner

Pablo Buitron de la Vega is a primary care provider trained in internal medicine and preventive medicine with a longstanding interest in patients’ attitudes and beliefs about health, health care, and their health-related social needs (HRSN). He provides clinical care to a majority Hispanic patient…Read More

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Pablo Buitron de la Vega, MS, MSc

Project Team pbuitro1@bu.edu

Pablo Buitron de la Vega is a primary care provider trained in internal medicine and preventive medicine with a longstanding interest in patients’ attitudes and beliefs about health, health care, and their health-related social needs (HRSN). He provides clinical care to a majority Hispanic patient population, an underserved minority in healthcare. He is Associate Program Director of the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) Preventative Medicine Residency and an Assistant Professor of Medicine. He is the clinician lead of BMC THRIVE, a program that aims to systematically address patients’ HRSN.