Grad Students Explore How Research Methods Shape Innovative Virtual Reality Interventions in Public Health

During my postdoctoral training at Yale University, prior to joining the University of New Haven as a tenure-track faculty member in the School of Health Sciences, I worked with an innovative lab focused on the development of serious games. These are games intentionally designed to create positive public health impact. This work included developing game-based interventions to address rising rates of youth vaping in Connecticut, as well as games to support adolescents in managing anxiety and other mental health outcomes.

This past semester, I was honored to return to Yale at the invitation of my former colleague, Kimberly Hieftje, associate professor of pediatrics and co-director and co-founder of and the . For more than 14 years, Dr. Hieftje’s work has focused on developing, evaluating, and implementing health and clinical interventions for youth using extended-reality and game technologies. XRPeds integrates virtual, augmented, and mixed reality into research and interventions aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing disparities among youth and their families, with particular attention to populations historically underserved by health systems.

As part of my Research Methods in Public Health course at the University of New Haven, several MPH students visited XRPeds to see how the research methods they are learning in class are applied in real-world, innovative public health practice. Below are reflections from three of my MPH students on how this experience shaped their understanding of research, intervention design, and their own professional goals.

During my visit to the XRPeds Lab, I saw how innovation can be used to address real public health problems in meaningful ways. I was inspired by how extended-reality games are designed to communicate complex information about vaping, marijuana use, and alcohol misuse in ways that are accessible and engaging for young people. These games are developed by interdisciplinary teams that include psychologists, computer scientists, game developers, and public health professionals. This helps ensure that the interventions are research driven and evidence based.

I also observed how qualitative research methods are applied to gather user feedback and assess the impact of these interventions. The findings are then used to improve game content and usability. This experience reinforced for me that research will always be relevant in public health. It strengthened my interest in becoming a public health program evaluator, which I hope will enable me to assess interventions, report findings, and contribute to effective health-promotion efforts.

Visiting the XRPeds Lab helped me understand how extended-reality technologies can be used to address public health challenges through education, clinical care, and behavior change. I was impressed by how augmented, virtual, and mixed reality are combined with research and game design to create immersive learning experiences. Playing the games reminded me how engaging visuals and interactive environments can enhance learning, especially for younger populations.

I learned that qualitative user feedback plays a major role in shaping these interventions. By listening to users’ experiences, the research team is able to refine game design and improve effectiveness. Seeing how research methods are translated into interactive tools changed how I think about data collection and intervention design in public health. This experience strengthened my interest in technology-driven public health solutions and their potential to reduce health disparities.

During the visit, I learned how public health research, behavioral science, and game design are integrated to create virtual reality interventions that address real-world health challenges. One project that stood out to me was , a game designed to help parents of neonatal intensive care unit patients practice infection-prevention behaviors. I also learned about a vaping prevention game that allows youth to practice refusal skills in realistic social situations.

I was particularly interested in how the research team uses quasi-experimental study designs, including pre- and post-tests, to measure changes in knowledge, attitudes, and intentions. These results are then used to refine the games throughout the development process. This experience showed me how powerful simulation and observational learning can be in public health practice, especially for younger audiences. It strengthened my interest in innovative digital interventions and emerging tools for behavior change and prevention.

Together, these reflections underscore the value of experiential learning in public health education. By visiting XRPeds, students were able to see how research methods taught in the classroom are applied in real-world settings to design, test, and refine innovative interventions.

The experience highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, methodological rigor, and creativity in addressing complex public health challenges. Most importantly, it allowed students to envision how they can contribute to meaningful, equity-driven public health solutions through research, evaluation, and innovation as we continue their training and future careers.

Dr. Alvin Tran is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Population Health & Leadership in the School of Health Sciences at the University of New Haven. He also holds a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences & Wellness.