Does the use of a Collaborative Virtual Environment (CVE) improve individual and system performance in public health preparedness and response planning?

The researchers propose that using a CVE will improve strategies, methods, and outcomes in emergency response for general and vulnerable populations, as well as daily public health practice.

Effective, Efficient Response

Virtual environments like Second Life show great promise in addressing issues like planning and coordination structures for responding to catastrophic events. 

Potential benefits of Collaborative Virtual Environments include:

• Modernization of planning processes, products, and tools
• Improvement of training, education, and development of emergency response planners
• Laying better groundwork for collaborative approaches
• Creating lower cost simulations

This observational study, based on an organizational model, will use pairs of emergency planning groups from local health departments to compare CVE-facilitated exercises to those performed without using the CVE.

Project Relevance

Responses to catastrophic events like Hurricane Katrina have shown that improvements to operations plans and planning processes are necessary to create more effective and efficient responses.  The amount of research into CVEs is lacking, and this study addresses that gap.

Lead Investigator

Colleen Monahan, DC, MPH (Second Life name:  Sweeny Todd) 
Director, Center for the Advancement of Distance Education (CADE)
Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

Co-Investigators

Kevin Harvey, MA (Second Life name: Qwerty Hansen)
Assistant Director of Development, UIC-CADE

Steve Jones, PhD
Associate Dean for Liberal Arts and Sciences
Professor of Communication
University of Illinois at Chicago

Other Key Staff

Project Manager: Andrew Cooper, MPH
UIC-CADE

Research Consultant: Brian Mustanski, PhD
Assistant Professor, Depts of Psychiatry and Psychology
University of Illinois at Chicago