XR Pediatrics

On Tuesday, Postgraduate Associates, Skylar Bartush and Mona Sinha, represented XR Pediatrics at the 2024 School Based Health Centers Conference, showcasing our nicotine and marijuana vaping prevention intervention, Invite Only VR: reHASHED.? - Hosted by the CT Association of School Based Health Centers, the conference highlights the crucial role of school-based health centers in providing accessible primary and mental health care to children and adolescents in the state of Connecticut.? - We are proud to be a part of this initiative for yet another year! Looking forward to integrating our updated game into CT schools and returning to the conference with more findings. - Interested? [email protected] https://xrpeds.org

Our very own, Dr. Kimberly Hieftje, PhD, will be attending IDWeek 2024 to participate in a panel titled: “Let’s Get Real: Using Virtual and Extended Reality for Infection Prevention, Control Training and Education of Front Line Staff.” This panel will take place on Thursday, October 17, 2024 from 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM US PT in Los Angeles, California. Moderators: Paul Pottinger MD Erica S. Shenoy, MD, PhD Panelists: Kimberly Hieftje, PhD Joel Mumma, PhD Andrea Greenfield, MSN, RN-BC CIC IDWeek is the joint annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP).

We trialed the latest iteration of “Cutie: Infection Prevention for NICU Parents” with around 10 nurses and 3 family members in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Yale New Haven Hospital. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this project is centered on the development and implementation of a virtual reality (VR)-based application, codenamed “The Cutie.” This intervention will provide hands on practice of both soft- and hard skills related to infection control and prevention behaviors for parents of high-risk patients admitted to the NICU. Veronica Weser Asher Marks, MD Thomas Murray Kimberly Hieftje, PhD Skylar Bartush Abigail Crocker Mona Sinha Yale School of Medicine Yale New Haven Health Jamie E. Trumpler, MBA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Richard Martinello

Last week, we had a blast hosting high school students from Yale Pathways to Science! Students explored the field of games for health, user-centered design, and VR experience guidelines. They worked in teams to research a community problem and concluded the week with impressive project presentations. Their creativity and enthusiasm were truly inspiring! Asher Marks, MD Kimberly Hieftje, PhD Veronica Weser Erin J.K. Truesdell Mona Sinha

We are going to #ComicCon2024 in San Diego! Excited to join these wonderful panelists for “Video Games: Gamer to Greatness.” Dr. Shamika Mitchell Eric Johnson Travis Williams Sharon Wood Kimberly Hieftje, PhD

Excited to announce that we will be speaking at the Serious Play Conference in Toronto this August! With close to 100 sessions and 130+ speakers, it promises to be an event for the ages. Check out the website to register, and we hope to see you there! #SeriousPlay24 https://lnkd.in/d6M72ey Kimberly Hieftje, PhD Asher Marks, MD Abigail Crocker Veronica Weser Justin Berry #seriousgames #gamebasedlearning #gbl #gamification #training #simulations #games #play #educationalgames #innovation #gamesforhealth

It was such a pleasure to welcome Dr. Thye Peng, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCSF, as a visiting scholar at XRPeds. We look forward to collaborating with you again, Thye! Thye Peng Ngo, PhD, RN, MSN, FNP, CNE, CHSE Kimberly Hieftje, PhD Kanu Priya Singh, Ph.D. Mona Sinha Erin J.K. Truesdell Asher Marks, MD

Thank you, Games for Change, for inviting us to share the progress we’ve made with this project. Year of the Cicadas: A VR Experience on Grief In the spring of 2004 in Indiana, billions of Great Eastern Cicadas, also known as “Brood X Cicadas,” emerged from their 17-year slumber. The loudest insect on earth, the cicadas spent the six short weeks of their lives chirping their shrill, relentless song for the sole purpose of finding a mate to reproduce and then die. That same spring, in a small southern Indiana town, a small boy died unexpectedly when his perfectly imperfect heart gave out. Seventeen years later, the cicadas – along with their painfully beautiful song – reemerged. Funded in part by the Unity for Humanity Grant, The Year of the Cicadas is a virtual reality experience about loss and meaning making over time. Kimberly Hieftje, PhD Asher Marks, MD Andrew Schartmann Unity PreviewLabs

Join us for AMXRA Grand Rounds coming up on July 29th!