VR Therapies and Training for Caregivers and Patients

The problem we are responding to is children in refugee camps committing suicide and self mutilation as young as 9 years old. Our search for a way to reach the children had us innovate and create a new model for providing psychological therapies to vulnerable populations. Between 20-30% of people in refugee camps suffer from PTSD, that is compared to less then 1% in the United States for example. The refugee population is +70 million currently and increasing. 

Our research found that western psychological practices failed in refugee camps because of cultural differences. For example most refugees do not come from cultures in which they reveal their most intimate feelings or trauma to a stranger, another example is how in group therapy the presence of a man or women of other social economic groups do not speak their trauma or concerns.  

Because of the failure of western psychology and other psychological interventions, we decided to investigate and develop a new approach, we noticed how refugees would come into a camp with a bag of clothes and a mobile phone. We decided to try virtual reality with the mobile phone and provide therapies and training using an embodied approach which is acultural or irrespective of culture and does not use language, words, or numbers. 

We created a new branch of phenomenological psychology which makes use of the immersive qualities in virtual reality to produce outcomes similar to or better than traditional psychology. We developed virtual landscapes which had plant life from all around the world while we deconstructed western psychology, philosophy, and aesthetics. We have examples for designs such as prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care training which involves using best practices from around the world to create a standard for low income and rural regions of the world.  

Our model provides accessible low cost training for nurses, midwives, and community health workers. We use mobile phones and low cost virtual reality headsets (ex. google cardboard) to provide free content for an embodied training which works across the world regardless of language and cultural barriers. Our model for training has been requested by the Mayo Clinic for Hernia Repair Surgery training and Pediatric MRI to reduce the need for sedation in children. We use existing technology which is widely accessible, such as the mobile phone, and we provide virtual reality mobile headset cases which we manufacture at under $7, all the apps are free to download.

Our team is driven by three Nurse Professors / Nurse Program Directors and one Nurse PhD candidate, who will lead the design, development, trials, and implementation of this international program. Our team is made up of 7 women and 3 male, our Board is equally as diverse. Studio Bahia is a flat organization where everyone earns $25 an hour, we are an interdisciplinary team which together create world class therapies and training. Two of our Nurse Professors have implemented virtual reality for the training of midwives in nursing schools in universities. Two of our Nurse PhD candidates are focused on using virtual reality towards improving the quality of development of nurses. Studio Bahia staff of virtual reality designers, clinical psychologists, and health specialists play a supporting role to the leadership of our Nurse Professionals in the implementation of this pilot.

We would like a partner for the next stage and know that MIT's community will benefit in many ways from learning a new model for caregiving and caregiving support. 

Our pilot provides free virtual reality training for nurses, midwives, and community health workers with using just one mobile device, many low income regions and families are only able to afford one mobile device, even just one mobile for a village. The ability to provide training with that mobile for the benefit of the community will have a positive impact on the social determinants of health of that region. We know young aspiring health professionals will be able to take their first steps in the profession of nursing and caregiving through our training. We use available technology to provide world class training to people so they may develop the skills to improve their communities. This will inspire a culture of care and wellbeing in the youth and the community across regions and countries.

Your mobile phone has better specs and technology then the best virtual reality specific headsets. Virtual reality provides an embodied and interactive learning environment close to the real experience. We combined both of these to produce training and support for the professional development of nurses and health practitioners. We provide all training, therapies, and experiences for free for you to download on your mobile. We are innovative in that we use existing technology in the most efficient and accessible manner. 

We created a sustainable model which includes the sale of our VR headset cases at $25 to hospitals, corporations, and retail outlets. For each sale we donate a VR headset case to vulnerable populations such as nurse unions, veterans, refugees, and disaster regions. We provide therapies and training where people are and where they need it by using their mobile phone with Studio Bahia’s VR headset or any Google cardboard headset, they are able to access a wide range of therapies and training at no extra charge and with no in-app purchases. Our business model is sustainable by the sale of our headsets.

This pilot to provide Prenatal care, Childbirth, Postnatal care, and Misoprostol hemorrhage training will allow us to distribute 10,000 virtual reality headset cases which come with a birthing kit.

The three risks which we will encounter include the distribution in regions with high mortality rates, regions in sub saharan Africa, the Andes region of South America, and other rural regions, including the United States. To mitigate this risk we have contacted and are actively partnering with existing organizations on the ground who have agreed to receive shipment and distribute widely in their region of operations. We also have Board members of Studio Bahia who are part of the Inter-Agency Group for Reproductive Health in Crises (IAWG.net)

We are measuring progress by completion of various projects within Studio Bahia. We are 501c3 nonprofit which both manufactures VR mobile headset and cases and develops virtual reality therapies and training. We have 7 women PhD who all have practical experience and who lead our progress in many different directions. 

Our model was designed for refugee camps with +100,000 people, the refugee crisis was the largest mental health crisis until the arrival of the pandemic. We know our model can scale to reach people anywhere in the world. We are sustainable by the sale of Studio Bahia virtual reality headsets which we manufacture at under $7 and we sell at $25, we also donate 1 headset for each sale. Our business model is one for one. We are confident in our approach to reach millions of health care professionals because of the wide use of smartphones and our low cost entry to virtual reality training. We have had a delay in manufacturing our first 1,000 samples this summer of 2020 due to trade, raw material, and supply line disruptions due to the pandemic. We adjusted and have scheduled manufacturing orders for after the holiday season and with the return to stability to supply lines. Our model is the most low cost accessible model for the training of peoples around the world, we know that we will widely disseminate knowledge to reduce pain, suffering, and death, while providing world class training to health professionals around the world.

Virtual reality provides an embodied and interactive learning environment close to the real experience. We combined both of these to produce training and support for the professional development of nurses and health practitioners. We provide all training, therapies, and experiences for free for you to download on your mobile. We are innovative in that we use existing technology in the most efficient and accessible manner. 

We are majority women of color organization, we are also a flat organization where we decide by vote on new designs and research.

We created a sustainable model which includes the sale of our VR headset cases at $25 to hospitals, corporations, and retail outlets. For each sale we donate a VR headset case to vulnerable populations such as nurse unions, veterans, refugees, and disaster regions. We provide therapies and training where people are and where they need it by using their mobile phone with Studio Bahia’s VR headset or any Google cardboard headset, they are able to access a wide range of therapies and training at no extra charge and with no in-app purchases. Our business model is sustainable by the sale of our headsets.

Our cash cow is the sale of VR headsets to hospitals who mail them to patients before they come in for medical procedures. Patients experience a virtual visit before the actual hospital visit and they responded saying it made them feel "emotionally supported". We reduce the anxiety in patients before arrival to hospital thereby reducing sedation and increasing recovery time of patients. We have pre-orders for 2000 VR headsets and are currently manufacturing 5000. 

We have received prizes and funds from private donors and the US government, even while our business model is sustainable. We are very confident and know how unusual it is that so many companies failed in virtual reality and here a nonprofit is succeeding. We are grateful for the support and the opportunity to serve the most vulnerable.