RESUMEN
Objective@#Mental health promotion programs using virtual reality (VR) technology have been developed in various forms. This study aimed to investigate the subjective experience of a VR-assisted mental health promotion program for the community population, which was provided in the form of VR experience on a bus to increase accessibility. @*Methods@#Ninety-six people participated in this study. The relationship between the subjective experience and mental health states such as depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and quality of life was explored. The subjective experience on depression and stress before and after VR program treatment was compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The satisfaction with the VR-assisted mental health promotion program was examined after using the VR program. @*Results@#The VR-assisted mental health promotion program on a bus significantly improved subjective symptoms such as depression (p=0.036) and perceived stress (p=0.010) among all the participants. Among the high-risk group, this VR program significantly relieved subjective depressive feeling score (p=0.033), and subjective stressful feeling score (p=0.035). In contrast, there were no significant changes in subjective depressive feelings (p=0.182) and subjective stressful feelings (p=0.058) among the healthy group. Seventy-two percent of the participants reported a high level of satisfaction, scoring 80 points or more. @*Conclusion@#The findings of this study suggest that the VR-assisted mental health promotion program may effectively improve the subjective depressive and stressful feelings. The use of VR programs on buses to increase of accessibility for the community could be a useful approach for promoting mental health among the population.
RESUMEN
Objective@#It is necessary to identify the mental health types of young women considering the importance of the mental health during the peripartum period. This study aimed to classify the mental health types in a community sample of young women with pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, or the postpartum period. @*Methods@#A total of 293 young women during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, or the postpartum period were included in this study. The clinical characteristics of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and quality of life were assessed. The clinical characteristics of the subject were classified by cluster analysis and compared by analysis of variance. @*Results@#From the cluster analysis, the subjects were classified into three groups. Cluster 1 showed significantly lower depression and anxiety and higher quality of life than those of cluster 2 and 3. Cluster 2 demonstrated significantly higher depression and anxiety and lower quality of life than those of cluster 3 and 1. Cluster 3 represented the intermediate levels between cluster 2 and 1. @*Conclusion@#This study suggested that young women during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, or the postpartum period might be in a good mental health group, a high-risk group requiring active monitoring, or a group in need of treatment. By monitoring mental health, the groups with high risk or requiring treatment could be discovered and proper management for prevention or improvement of mental health and quality of life can be provided.
RESUMEN
Background@#Several studies support the effectiveness and tolerability of virtual reality (VR) interventions in the psychiatric field. This study aimed to examine changes of cognitive performance in VR-assisted mental health promotion programs and to investigate the difference in performance according to clinical characteristics. @*Methods@#Thirty subjects aged >55 years participated in the study. The clinical characteristics of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, quality of life, and cognition were assessed. Cognitive performance in VR-assisted mental health promotion programs was compared between the clusters classified by clinical characteristics. @*Results@#Cluster analysis classified the subjects into three groups. In Cluster 1, the Module 3 training score was significantly different before and after VR performance. In Cluster 2, significant differences were observed in the Module 1 training score, the Module 2 training score, the Module 2 defense failure score, and the Module 3 training score.In Cluster 3, a significant difference was observed in the Module 3 training score. @*Conclusion@#The results of this study suggest that VR performance might differ according to clinical characteristics. A cognitive training strategy using VR has to be differentially established depending on the characteristics of the community population.