First let’s talk about some of the obstacles in getting into SL (Second Life) virtual world. Even with some IT background, I had to struggle with some difficulties in learning how to move about and emerge myself into this non-reality world. I presume with improvement in technology and creativity, Second Life has become a virtual world for everyone to exist in this somewhat fantasy land where you can be someone else without any personal risk, and because of the highly creativity and complex software applications in building this virtual world and all of its contents, the process of learning to manipulate your avatar (graphical representation of yourself) is quite technically challenge, and will take some time to get used to and be comfortable with, and even more so with non-technical person, especially the elders.
Secondly, at first glance Second Life is very similar to many other virtual games that many teens and young adults play to escape real life, therefore by association Second Life may not be taken seriously unless proven to the general public any possibilities of true health benefits, or else there will be reluctance for people to cross the borders from real lives into virtual lives.
But now as I'm in this virtual world and have gone to Davis Island and participate in a few experiment such as youtube/ "Virtual Hallucination", I can see there are numerous possibilities Second Life can bring some advantages for both doctors and patients, such as;
- Creating virtual scenarios or role plays between doctor and patient with a general list of questionnaires to be ask from either party, so the patients can know what to be expected when make a visit to the doctor's office.
- Building a virtual environment (example: a doctor's office, examination room, a surgery room) so patient can visually see and perhaps will be at ease before they actually make a doctor/hospital visit.
- Creating virtual scenarios for both young and adults patients to have a general idea of what will be taking place from the patient’s point of views when coming in for a simple general physical check-up to highly complex surgical process such as heart bypass surgery…if possible.
At this point in time, I personally feel that having a patient-doctor relationship in Second Life could not fully replace a face-to-face doctor’s visit or video conferencing between doctor and patient because the world wide web is an open market of information where the genuine goods are hard to detect from the illegitimate, and therefore the word “trust” from patient to doctor may not have the same resonance in Second Life as in “Real Life”, and because Second Life can often implies a virtual place for fun and enjoyment and therefore will bring forth doubts concerning the true value of health benefits until it is scientifically proven so.
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