JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Black men face a disproportionate burden of prostate cancer (CaP), compounded by unmet psychosocial needs at the point of prostate cancer diagnosis (PPCD). At the PPCD, many Black men experience profound emotional distress, uncertainty, and a lack of culturally competent care, which can negatively influence long-term survivorship and quality of life. To address these unmet needs, we developed a PPCD Virtual Reality Assistant (ViRA), an immersive, AI-powered intervention co-designed with Black prostate cancer survivors. The PPCD ViRA offers tailored psycho-oncology support, emotional guidance, and navigation of social determinants of health (SDOH), delivered through virtual reality environments.

Objective:

This study assessed the receptivity of Black men to the PPCD ViRA. Specifically, the primary objective was to establish the feasibility, acceptability, and usability of the Artificial Intelligent and augmented reality-based ViRA, designed to deliver psycho-oncology support, emotional reinforcement, and navigation of social determinants of health (SDOH) services.

Methods:

The PPCD ViRA was co-designed and co-developed with CaP survivors. Once developed, alpha testing was conducted to assess initial acceptability and usability of the ViRA among ten participants, including seven project team members and three Black CaP survivors.

Results:

Findings revealed high acceptability, strong emotional engagement, and clear potential to enhance the PPCD experience for Black men. Lessons learned highlight the importance of emotional timing, culturally embedded design, community co-creation, optional delivery formats, broader community partnerships, and inclusive implementation strategies in advancing digital health equity.

Conclusions:

Our findings support the feasibility and cultural acceptability of ViRA, while also identifying critical areas for refinement and larger-scale validation before clinical deployment. Clinical Trial: Not applicable.