First on Scene: Practitioner Considerations for Using Augmented and Virtual Reality for Recognizing and Treating Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that occurs from exposure to an allergen. There has been an upward trend in the rates of hospitalization and Emergency Department (ED) visits related to anaphylaxis across the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Although fatal anaphylaxis is not a common occurrence, delays in treatment are nearly always associated with fatalities. Therefore, time is one of the leading variables related to successful outcomes associated with anaphylaxis treatment during prehospital care. Perhaps even more importantly, prehospital care faces a shortage of certified professionals. Some programs offer accelerated timelines to credential students faster than usual to make up for demand. In rural portions of the United States, paramedics and EMTs are leaving the field at alarming rates, causing significant changes in staffing and workload. The changes we are currently facing in the healthcare industry result in an unprecedented need for efficient, effective, and low-cost training solutions to prepare healthcare professionals and train community members to provide support before the arrival of EMS personnel. Emerging technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) have been identified as a potential way to train timely care. Still, they have not been fully evaluated from a human performance perspective. This work aims to clearly identify how VR can enhance training through a review of the extant literature. By mapping areas where 3D user interfaces (3DUIs) could be leveraged for training for encounters with a patient suffering from anaphylaxis, this paper demonstrates the practical use of VR/AR for training anaphylaxis response in community-based care settings.