University of Minnesota:

Simulations and Exercises for

Educational Effectiveness
(U-SEEE)

These activities are sponsored by University of Minnesota: Simulations and Exercises for Educational Effectiveness (U-
SEEE), supported in part by cooperative agreement number 5P01TP000301-02 from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). The views presented do not necessarily reflect the official policies of CDC. U- SEEE Principal
Investigator: Debra K. Olson. Project Lead Investigator: .

School of Public Health

 Using Collaborative Virtual Environments in
Preparedness and Emergency Response Planning

UIC Team Members

Colleen Monahan, DC, MPH , PI

(a.k.a. Sweeny Todd)

Steve Jones, PhD, Co-PI

Jack Neuner, BA, Project Manager

Andrew Cooper, MPH, Project Data Manager

(a.k.a. Kupari Bookmite)

Brian Mustanski, PhD, Consultant

School of Public Health

 Collaborative Virtual Environments Defined
• A 3D electronic performance support tool, aka virtual world,
to simulate real environments
• In this project we will use Second Life which provides an
ample set of “in-world” modeling tools and a scripting
language to make this happen.
 Why Use a Virtual Environment?
Virtual environments allow participants to experience situations
that are impossible or difficult to experience in the real world
for reasons of safety, cost, time, etc.
 Why Use a Virtual Environment?
Virtual environments provide a means to construct an “artificial
world” in which multiple individuals can plan spaces and
processes and organizational structures.
 Why Use Second Life?
• Second Life is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing
Game (MMORPG)
• 2009 #1 in the average time spent in minutes per week
(760) amongst all MMORPGs
• 2009 had 769,000 monthly unique returning users
 Why Use Second Life?

• It is free for all users

• It is the most popular MMORPG
–Economy grew 94% 2009
–$144 million dollars in total user-to-
user transactions 2009
–Land ownership grew by 11%
 Research Questions
Does the use of a Collaborative Virtual
Environment (CVE) in public health
preparedness planning

• improve collaboration amongst participants,

• increase awareness of the need to plan for
vulnerable populations,
• encourage future use of the tool (CVE), or
• increase the effectiveness of the planning
 Sample Selection
• Observational study
• A minimum of 40 health departments will be
recruited to participate in the study. Each health
department will use their emergency planning
group (10 participants each on average) (minimum
of 400 total participants)

Exclusion Criteria
Health departments would not be enrolled in the
study if they lack the technology to participate in
either intervention group.
 The Intervention
Facilitated Planning
Workshop on
Point of Dispensing
(POD)

School of Public Health

 The Control
Group One
(the classic approach)
will get didactic
training/orientation
followed by a
facilitated real-world
workshop on POD
planning.
 The Intervention
Group Two
will get didactic
training/orientation
following by a
Workshop, using
CVE as a tool, on
POD planning.
 Questionnaire Measures
• Construct/Measure • Attitude about the Goal
• Demographics • Emergency Plan
• Technology Acceptance Development
• Individual Performance • Emergency Plan
• Team Performance Modification
• Communication Measures • Emergency Plan
Evaluation
• Mutual Mental Model
Congruence • Cross-agency
Collaboration
• Organizational Awareness
• Networking
• Evaluation of the Scenario
• Use of CVE
 The When of Measurement
• Initial baseline questionnaire plus a post 12
month of agency representative.
• Pre and Post workshop questionnaires done
by participants in the workshop, their
personal performance and the performance
of others
• Observational measures at the workshop
• Ongoing in Second Life during 12 months
post workshop
 Second Life Measures
• Use of the CVE environment (by
avatar)
– Visits
– Use of assets (furniture, signage, etc.)
– Length of time
– Places visited
– Invite others (new avatars) to the space
– Images of new setups created
 Recruitment
• Recruitment Letter emailed to 3,123
local health departments. This came
from a NACCHO list.
• There were 292 health departments
with no email address and 72
responded as interested.
• Final recruitment for first wave is 12
health departments randomized into 2
groups of 6.
 Recruitment (12 Sites)

CVE
Non CVE
7 Urban, 5 Rural
Pop Density 2 to 2,025 per sq mi
 Recruitment
• 3 have ~ 18% African-Americans
• 2 have 29-32% Hispanic
• 1 has 16% Hispanic
• 1 is 78% American Indian
• 1 is 11% American Indian