A Game-Based Simulation Utilizing Virtual Humans to Train Physicians to Screen and Manage the Care of Patients with Mental Health Disorders

Every year, one in four American adults suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder, yet most of them go untreated, creating a significant public health challenge. This challenge is compounded by large-scale disasters, which can cause an influx of primary care patients presenting with physical symptoms that mask mental health disorders. Primary care providers (PCPs) are usually the first point of contact for those patients; thus there exist crucial opportunities to detect and address nonphysical disorders in primary care settings that would improve patient outcomes and quality of care. Unfortunately, many PCPs view mental health as separate from the services that they provide, and the majority of them have received little training during or after medical or nursing school about risk factors, symptoms, and treatment options. To help integrate behavioral health into primary care, Kognito Interactive developed "At-Risk in Primary Care,'' an online game-based simulation that integrates role-play conversations with virtual humans to train PCPs to screen patients for mental health disorders, perform brief behavioral interventions using motivational interviewing (MI), refer patients, and integrate behavioral health into their treatment while building patients' intrinsic motivation to adhere to it. Preliminary findings on the implementation of this game in New York City show significant increases in skill and motivation to screen patients, conduct behavioral interventions, and refer patients to specialized care. These results show the promise of innovative technology-based solutions to integrate mental health training in primary care.