Innovations and mediums to assist and empower patients in chronic illness self-management are needed to: eliminate barriers to healthcare;accommodate limited health literacy;provide sustainable, cost-effective patient education and support;and move beyond ineffective, non-interactive health behavior interventions. Advances in communication technology such as the Web 2.0 are a means to fill these needs. Initial studies suggest that virtual environments, which promote social interaction via repetition, practice, feedback, and application, lead to superior learning and skill set transfer. Therefore, we propose to develop and test a theoretically grounded, technologically-based, bio-behavioral intervention using the virtual environment, Second Life to facilitate self- management of diabetes. Diabetes affects 23.6 million US adults, most of whom have Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM). Metabolic control is known to reduce diabetes morbidity and mortality, yet it remains the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S... Individuals with T2DM provide 99% of their own care, making diabetes self- management (DSM) (e.g. diet, exercise) integral to control. Tailored DSM interventions utilizing patient- provider interaction have had encouraging short-term effects. However, this frequent interaction is unattainable and costly. Internet interventions have the potential to capture the dynamics of patient-provider interaction, but to date remain """"""""flat"""""""" and unidirectional with asynchronous communication. Virtual environments such as Second Life are a potential solution to capturing patient-provider dynamics via interactivity, synchronous communication, knowledge application, and social networking in an immersive environment. We propose that a virtual diabetes community (SLIDES) with real-time interaction among adults with T2DM, healthcare professionals, and peers is feasible and has the potential to influence metabolic control and psychosocial mediators. This pilot study utilizes a one group, pre-mid-post measure study design to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and effect of participation in SLIDES, which includes interactive DSM education, support, and resources. The SLIDES community will consist of a community center, gym, grocery store, and other locations, each allowing for interactive knowledge application. Based on this design our specific aims are: (1) Develop an immersive diabetes community (SLIDES) using Second Life and assess the feasibility by analyzing process data;and (2) Determine the preliminary effects of participation in the SLIDES intervention on metabolic control and potential psychosocial mediating variables as a basis for effect sizes and variance in future intervention studies. If our approach is promising, we will pursue experimental efficacy testing in future studies. As little is known about the acceptability and efficacy of health interventions in a virtual environment, this study constitutes important steps to understand how they promote self-management. Innovative programs such as SLIDES have potential for improving healthcare access in an easily disseminated alternative model of care that promotes cost-effective resource utilization.
Innovative health programs that utilize virtual environments, such as SLIDES, have potential for bringing high- quality healthcare to underserved areas in an easily disseminated, cost-effective alternative model of care.
