-By Kim Smallman<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to contribute a case study on VR\u2011Melody to national discussions on digital creative health (referred to as CreaTech), and to attend a UK All\u2011Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Creative Health roundtable at the House of Lords on the 21st<\/sup> April.<\/p>\n VR\u2011Melody is a research project exploring how virtual reality (VR), music and artificial intelligence (AI) can be brought together to support emotional regulation, reduce symptoms of anxiety and build mental resilience in adults. The project focused on developing a personalised immersive intervention shaped by lived experience and evidence-based therapeutic practice, leveraging AI and music to create immersive, home-based therapeutic experiences, with a focus on self-management and preventive mental health care. The research adopted a phased co\u2011production approach, involving people who have experienced symptoms of anxiety alongside voluntary sector professionals, focusing on acceptability, feasibility and user experience. The case study is available via the National Centre for Creative Health<\/a> (NCCH) and demonstrates how creative digital approaches can be developed and evaluated and the potential of co-produced, technology-driven interventions to support mental wellbeing and anxiety self-management.<\/p>\n The VR\u2011Melody case study was invited by the NCCH as part of a wider evidence base informing discussions on digital health and CreaTech. Case studies such as this play a vital role in bridging research, innovation and policy by providing concrete examples of what is being developed, tested and learned in real\u2011world contexts. The NCCH were instrumental in translating VR\u2011Melody into a policy\u2011facing case study, distilling design, co\u2011production and evaluation work into a clear narrative that speaks to relevance, feasibility and future potential.<\/p>\n I thoroughly enjoyed attending the APPG Creative Health roundtable on Digital Health and CreaTech, which brought together parliamentarians, researchers, clinicians, creatives, funders and sector organisations. The meeting began with selected speakers from different backgrounds sharing their experiences of creative approaches delivered through digital tools. This was followed by an invigorating Q&A and discussion on the opportunities and challenges within CreaTech. Reflections from the event are summarised by NCCH<\/a> and in the subsequent policy briefing document<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many of the themes raised resonated strongly with our experience of VR\u2011Melody, including the importance of co\u2011production, concerns around digital exclusion and access, and the need for evaluation approaches that can capture creative and relational value, not just clinical endpoints. There was also a strong emphasis on the practical challenges of working within CreaTech navigating regulatory pathways and the need for clear guidance and roadmap for NHS adoption and implementation of digital creative health solutions.<\/p>\n Contributing to the APPG process has provided me with the opportunity to engage with national conversations about creative health, digital innovation and mental health policy. It has also highlighted how centres like CTR can play a part in supporting responsible innovation in health. As creative and digital technologies continue to develop, there is increasing demand for evaluation approaches that are both robust and flexible, and that can inform real\u2011world decision\u2011making. VR\u2011Melody provides an example of how expertise in research design, co\u2011production and early\u2011phase evaluation can support the development of novel interventions, while ensuring that enthusiasm for new technologies is matched with high\u2011quality evidence and critical reflection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"-By Kim Smallman Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to contribute a case study on VR\u2011Melody to national discussions on digital creative health (referred to as CreaTech), and to […]","protected":false},"author":1310,"featured_media":6671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brain-and-neuroscience"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7dIou-1IO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2217,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/setting-hip-dysplasia-research-priorities-for-the-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":6622,"position":0},"title":"Setting Hip Dysplasia Research Priorities For the Future","author":"Julie Latchem-Hastings","date":"April 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Between 2020-2022 Cardiff University researchers and scholars worked intensely with 20 adults with hip dysplasia to: Learn about their experiences of starting and staying physically active Set research priorities for future hip dysplasia research Create a peer support website Due to Covid-19, the project had largely been run online.\u00a0 You\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/499\/2022\/04\/CreActive-blog-1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/499\/2022\/04\/CreActive-blog-1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/499\/2022\/04\/CreActive-blog-1-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/499\/2022\/04\/CreActive-blog-1-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/499\/2022\/04\/CreActive-blog-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/499\/2022\/04\/CreActive-blog-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2782,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-trials-research\/vr-ready-placement-reflections-of-a-fourth-year-medical-student\/","url_meta":{"origin":6622,"position":1},"title":"VR-READY Placement: Reflections Of A Fourth Year Medical Student","author":"Kim Madden","date":"December 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Cardiff University hosts a range of student placements within the on-campus internships programme providing opportunities for undergraduate students to undertake summer placements within university departments. 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