This document summarizes a research project that used Second Life to improve health literacy. The project involved: 1) Developing interactive games in Second Life to educate users about heart attacks, strokes, and medical terminology. 2) Forming a project team with the necessary skills to build the virtual environment and tools. 3) Marketing the project on social media and professional websites to recruit over 400 participants in 10 months, 36% of whom completed a follow-up survey. 4) Collecting preliminary results from the survey about demographics and whether participants learned useful new health information.

1. Health Research in Second Life:
From Idea to Virtual Reality
Brielle Coronet
Medical Librarian
2010 Research Award
MLA/Hospital Libraries Section
This research project has been partially funded with Federal funds
from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of
Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under
Contract No. NO1-LM-6-3501 with New York University

2. What is Health Literacy?
 Health Literacy is
about being able to:
• Read
• Understand
• Act

3. The Situation
 Why address HL?

4. Before the IRB Harvest: Planting Seeds
 2007
 2008
 2009
 2010+

5. The IRB Experience
• Idea
• Research
• 1st
timers tips
• Solo or team effort?
• Support system
• Realistic Goals
• The IRB application
• Gift of time

6. After the IRB Green Light:
Potential Obstacles

7. Cartoon…firewall…$
 Closed minds (cartoon)
 IT: firewalls, company policies…can seem like a invisible force field
• Friend your VP/manager/supervisor---they might open shut doors
• Upgraded PC & graphics card
• Huge 22” monitor
• Websense disabled & given free reign to internet access
 Cost: Virtual & Real $$
 Budget & Funding
• Internal costs (SL): items, textures, scripts
• External costs: webmaster, graphics card, memory
• Time: presentations, publications, promoting
• Personal investment: time, equipment, internet
• Funding: company budget, grants, personal

8. IRB PROJECT IDEA:
Can interactive games in a virtual world (Second Life)
improve health literacy?
 Heart attack
 Stroke
 Medical terminology

9. Breaking Ground
 Project Team
 Skills
 Materials
 Tools: scripts, survey links
 Networking
 Location, location location!

10. Build it …and they will come?
 Marketing strategies:
• Professional groups
• Blog
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• SL events
• Profile pick
• Facebook
• RL Library website
• RL publications
• Presentations (consumer
level & professional)
• Awards & Recognition

11. Lessons Learned
 Demand more time & attention than you planned
 Assess needed skills before jumping off the IRB cliff
 Be prepared: learn & skill build before not after IRB
approval
 It’s ok to ask for help (inworld & out)
 Take advantage of work time access
 Budget: institutions/companies think “everything is
free” on the internet, including SL & may not
understand virtual setup costs = real $
• Establish a research budget prior to IRB

12. Preliminary Study Results
 > 400 participants (10 months)
 36% took survey (SurveyMonkey)
 Demographics
• Age
• Gender
• Education
 Key Study Questions
• Learn any new information?
• Will information be useful for future health care
decisions?