After participating in a seven-minute educational, interactive experience through a virtual reality headset, patients showed improvements in adherence to a regimen of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) medications, according to a new study in the Interactive Journal of Medical Research.
More than 100 patients with HIV viewed the VR experience, which illustrated the mechanisms of immune cells, HIV and antiretroviral medications, showing the importance of HAART adherence. Each patient self-reported how often they take their medication two weeks before and after viewing the video, and also had blood tests both before and several months after the experience.
After the VR experience, patients were significantly more likely to report having complied with their treatment regimen, with the results of their follow-up viral load and CD4 blood tests reflecting that increase. As a result, according to the study's authors, widespread use of this quick and low-cost VR experience could have a hugely beneficial impact on the approximately 40 percent of people with HIV whose medication compliance falls below 90 percent, the threshold for high treatment efficacy.
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