IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

Healthy Avatars, Healthy People: Care Engagement Through the Shared Experience of Virtual Worlds

Healthy Avatars, Healthy People: Care Engagement Through the Shared Experience of Virtual Worlds
View Sample PDF
Author(s): Stefano Triberti (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy)and Alice Chirico (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy)
Copyright: 2018
Pages: 22
Source title: Health Care Delivery and Clinical Science: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Information Resources Management Association (USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-3926-1.ch057

Purchase

View Healthy Avatars, Healthy People: Care Engagement Through the Shared Experience of Virtual Worlds on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

Recent literature shows that new technologies can be used to promote patient engagement. The present contribution focuses on Virtual Worlds (VWs), namely virtual environments that multiple users can experience together thanks to the use of avatars. Indeed, VWs offer interesting opportunities for patient engagement interventions on two levels. On the individual level, customized avatars are known to have relationships with users' inner experience and Self-conception, so that they may constitute a peculiar additional tool for psychological assessment. Moreover, they are able to promote healthy behaviors thanks to a strong vicarious reinforcement (Proteus effect). On the collective level, VWs constitute an ideal platform to support the emergence of collective flow states (Networked Flow) which are related to the patients' creative activity and well-being. The present contribution deepens these phenomena, presenting VWs as an innovative and interesting tool for the patient engagement interventions of the future.

Related Content

. © 2024. 27 pages.
. © 2024. 10 pages.
. © 2024. 13 pages.
. © 2024. 6 pages.
. © 2024. 23 pages.
. © 2024. 14 pages.
. © 2024. 7 pages.
Body Bottom