Imagine walking into an unfamiliar home to assess risks and protective factors for child abuse; now, imagine doing this without ever leaving your desk. Chad McDonald, a PhD candidate and faculty member at the University of Utah College of Social Work, developed this idea while trying to improve training for undergraduate students and employees at the Division of Child and Family Services. McDonald and his colleagues’ work fits within the Grand Challenge to Harness Technology for Social Good by collaborating with students and experts from the university’s Therapeutic Games and Apps (GApp) Lab to produce a state-of-the-art virtual reality photography-based simulation tool. Learn more.
Pictured: Martell Teasley, PhD, Dean of the University of Utah College of Social Work and Grand Challenge Executive Committee member, tries out the virtual reality simulation tool with Chad McDonald and Matt Davis.