Applications of VR during the SARS-COVID-19 Pandemic 

Virtual Reality (VR) has been used in various ways during the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic. As discussed in the "VR in Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention" section, VR technology is being rigorously tested to analyze how it can provide safe, scalable, and resource-efficient training for healthcare providers and students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, such training focused on training healthcare staff and students on how to appropriately use personal protective equipment, administer medical treatments and procedures, and overall patient care and well-being. VR was also used to mitigate the effect of social distancing and enhance experiences of telemedicine by proving more immersive and interactive remote care. In addition, VR was used to mitigate the effects of quarantining and "shelter in place" policies by providing people with a virtual escape to places that they could no longer visit. VR was also used to develop potential treatments and drugs. In general, parties tried to use VR to increase social interaction and reduce the toll of mental health issues. 

Overall, VR has been a valuable tool during the pandemic, providing ways to stay connected, entertained, and educated while reducing the risk of exposure to the virus; however, COVID-19 brought to the surface many of the systematic and institutional gaps in the healthcare system. Black, indigenous, and immigrant communities suffered the most while contributing the most labor, energy, time, and resources. The fragmentation and inherent racism of the healthcare system could no longer be avoided and swept under the carpet. This is particularly relevant to emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality. Concerns around the cost and accessibility of such technologies persist and are more felt than ever. In addition, concerns around privacy, ethics, and aggressive data collection should all be given the appropriate time, energy, and technical expertise. This is especially relevant in a climate where such technologies are barely regulated. Further, a comprehensive analysis of “unintended consequences” should be taken into account when using VR in times of distress and uncertainty; such concerns could include, fatigue, social isolation, compounded dental health issues, and addiction. 

The section below explores some of the available literature on the application of VR during the COVID-19 pandemic: 

1. Applications of virtual and augmented reality in infectious disease epidemics with a focus on the COVID-19 outbreak by Asadzadeh et al (2021)

   1. the objective of this paper was to review VR and AR applications in the emergency management of infectious outbreaks with an emphasis on the COVID-19 outbreak

   2. Telehealth, telecommunication, and drug discovery have been among the applications of VR during the COVID-19  pandemic

   3. AR has also been used in various industries, including healthcare, marketing, universities, and schools

   4. Providing high-resolution audio and video communication, facilitating remote collaboration, and allowing the visualization of invisible concepts are some of the advantages of using AR technology

   5. the potential applications of these technologies for COVID-19 can be categorized into four groups; 

      1. Entertainment

      2. clinical context

      3. business and industry

      4. education and training

   6. The results of this study indicate that VR and AR have the potential to be used for emergency management of infectious diseases

2. Virtual reality adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic: A uses and gratifications perspective by Ball et al (2021) 

   1. UGT is applied to examine the use and adoption of VR devices during the pandemic

   2. Buying VR during the pandemic is related to use for work, education, and gaming

   3. Games and entertainment are the most popular uses of VR during the pandemic

   4. VR for telemedicine is the least popular use for VR during the COVID-19 pandemic

   5. Social interactivity predicts the use and purchase intentions of VR devices

   6. Social interactivity and use intentions serve as mediators of purchase intentions

1. Shared Virtual Reality Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Gratifications and Effects of Engagement with Immersive Videos by Chneg at al (2021)

   1. In this study, researchers aimed to enrich the information processing literature by focusing on the uses and gratifications of 360-degree VR videos during the pandemic

   2. this study found that five types of gratification, including utilitarian (i.e., navigation), hedonic (i.e., enjoyment), sensual (i.e., realism), social (i.e., community), and symbolic (i.e., coolness), significantly motivated users to use such immersive videos

Additional resources: 

1. Augmented And Virtual Reality After Covid-19 by Forbes

   1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/09/14/augmented-and-virtual-reality-after-covid-19/?sh=124ed20b2d97 

2. Telemedicine and Virtual Reality at Time of COVID-19 Pandemic: An Overview for Future Perspectives in Neurorehabilitation

   1. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.646902/full 

3. Virtual Reality Applications in Medicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review

   1. https://games.jmir.org/2022/4/e35000 

4. Accessibility of Educational Virtual Reality for Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic by Stanford’s Virtual Human interaction 

   1. https://stanfordvr.com/pubs/2022/accessibility-of-educational-virtual-reality-for-children-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 

5. How has COVID-19 impacted the future of VR innovation?

   1. https://www.businessthink.unsw.edu.au/articles/covid-future-vr-innovation