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Cognitive remediation improves cognition and psychosocial functioning in individuals with psychotic disorders. The use of virtual reality to deliver cognitive remediation in immersive environments that mimic real cognitively challenging situations has the potential to increase engagement to treatment and further enhance its impact on functioning.
Objective:
In this project, we co-developed a cognitive remediation program in virtual reality with individuals with a psychotic disorder (n = 9) and healthcare professionals (n = 7) to identify and address their needs.
Methods:
Individuals with lived experience met nine times and the healthcare professionals met three times. Participants discussed personal and professional opinions on the challenges associated with cognitive difficulties in individuals with psychotic disorders. They also provided feedback on the program development.
Results:
We discerned four themes from the content expert working group: the need for a program to address cognitive impairments, the key program design elements to support cognitive rehabilitation, the importance of leveraging technology as an intervention tool, and the need to improve community functioning. Three themes were identified for the health care professionals: the need for a clinically significant program that addresses the research-to-practice gap, the need to improve patient engagement in services, and the need for a program that addresses the limited resources in healthcare. The needs of our end-user experts were placed at the center of the program development process. When possible, we also integrated their suggestions, like the incorporation of a virtual coach within the immersive environment.
Conclusions:
Individuals with lived experience and healthcare professionals have distinct needs, which have informed the co-design of a novel cognitive remediation program in virtual reality, ThinkTactic VR. To our knowledge, ThinkTactic VR is one of the first co-designed and co-developed cognitive remediation program in virtual reality using an iterative, user-centered approach with individuals with a psychotic disorder and health care professionals.