Life at 100.4: An Immersive Social Virtual Reality (VR) Education Tool for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Caregivers

Febrile neutropenia, a condition marked by fever and low numbers of neutrophils, is the most commonly encountered complication of childhood cancer treatment. The mortality of untreated febrile neutropenia is as high as 30%. Delay of appropriate care and increased time to antibiotics are associated with increased mortality. Reasons for delay to care include a lack of understanding about the seriousness of febrile neutropenia or difficulty navigating the healthcare system. Effective, and evidence-based educational experiences can reduce morbidity and mortality rates related to febrile neutropenia. This proposal aims to combat knowledge gaps surrounding febrile neutropenia through the creation of an immersive social VR-based intervention, Life at 100.4. This program will provide critical education to patients and caregivers related to febrile neutropenia during cancer treatment. This work will result in the development of a critical new tool specific to febrile neutropenia while establishing VR more broadly as an effective patient and caregiver education tool, particularly for the near 40% of the population with low health literacy. Objective 1 will include a qualitative study comprising interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders conducted by the Yale team to understand attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge around the navigation of febrile neutropenia. Objective 2 will be the production of a VR-based prototype. Objective 3, the focus of this registration, will assess feasibility and usability of this education tool.