2010 – the year for health and virtual worlds?

A quick post to wish everyone the best for the coming year.

I’ve made some broader predictions for the coming year, but I’m particularly excited about the prospects in regards to health interventions, research or education. It’s still relatively early days, but over the past year I’ve been struck by some of the great work going on in regards to health and I can only see that growing.

Some highlights from 2009 for me:

1. The superb work done by the SLENZ project on midwifery and birthing in Second Life.

2. The fascinating insights of the University of Sydney’s Andrew Campbell on addiction and virtual environments.

3. The perspectives of DeeAnna Nagel and Kate Anthony on psychotherapy in an online environment.

4. The interesting approach taken by a UK company facilitating paramedic training in Second Life.

5. The emerging evidence of the efficacy of virtual environments in nurse education.

I’m looking forward to covering some exciting stories during 2010 and perhaps contributing some research or health work myself. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts or to find out more about your projects.

Here’s to a fruitful 2010!