An interactive media program for managing psychosocial problems on long-duration spaceflights

Space crews must be self-reliant to complete long-duration missions successfully. This project involves the development and evaluation of a network of self-guided interactive multimedia programs to train and assist long-duration flyers in the prevention, assessment, and management of psychosocial pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAviation, space, and environmental medicine Vol. 76; no. 6 Suppl; p. B213
Main Authors Carter, James A, Buckey, Jay C, Greenhalgh, Leonard, Holland, Albert W, Hegel, Mark T
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.06.2005
Subjects
Aerospace Medicine - instrumentation
Astronauts - psychology
Computer-Assisted Instruction
Conflict (Psychology)
Depression - prevention & control
Ecological Systems, Closed
Group Processes
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Multimedia
Program Development
Self Care - instrumentation
Social Isolation - psychology
Software
Space Flight
Stress, Psychological - complications
Stress, Psychological - prevention & control
Time Factors
United States
United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration
United States
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Summary:Space crews must be self-reliant to complete long-duration missions successfully. This project involves the development and evaluation of a network of self-guided interactive multimedia programs to train and assist long-duration flyers in the prevention, assessment, and management of psychosocial problems that can arise on extended missions. The system is currently under development and is intended for use both during training and on orbit. A virtual space station 3-dimensional graphic was created to serve as a portal to multimedia-based training, assessment, and intervention resources. Additionally, original content on interpersonal conflict and depression is being developed for the system. Input on the best practices for managing conflict and depression on extended missions was obtained from 13 veteran long-duration flyers, as well as from clinical experts. Formative evaluation of a prototype of the system will be conducted with 10 members of the astronaut corps. Subsequently, the content on conflict and depression will be completed, and the depression self-treatment portion will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. Although this study involves developing countermeasures to assist long-duration flyers, it also provides a model that could be applied in many Earthbound settings, both in operational environments and in everyday life.
ISSN:0095-6562