That is NOT Immersive! Study finds that VR breathing interventions are NOT more effective at improving mental health outcomes than non-VR alternatives.
It seems that some in the digital therapeutic crowd are confusing a therapy delivery mechanism (such as VR) with the therapeutic. This is akin to saying, “I am going to make a TV show and it will be a hit because it is on TV”.
What VR and other digital delivery platforms provide is the opportunity to create immersive experiences that increase the adoption of new behaviors through hashtag#story, hashtag#play, hashtag#community and hashtag#distraction. Absent these elements, all you’ve built is a digital approximation of a therapy.
In the case of something like vagal nerve stimulation through breathing exercises, if an immersive medical experience cannot be created, the core mechanic (guided breathing) just becomes more cumbersome in the VR environment. This is exactly what this well-crafted meta-analysis authored by Gabriela Cortez-Vázquez demonstrates.
“Comparing VR to non-VR breathing interventions, there were no significant differences in overall mental health, stress, anxiety or mood, nor in HR or HRV. There was no evidence that participants liked VR breathing interventions more than non-VR, nor would use them more in the future.”
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