Advancing Knowledge on the Health Consequences of Discrimination: The Potential of Virtual Reality

Objectives: Racism and discrimination drive racial and ethnic health disparities, and are robust markers for a host of health outcomes in People of Color and Indigenous Peoples (POCI). A comprehensive understanding of possible causal pathways by which racism and discrimination lead to POCI's health disadvantages is a critical step toward reducing disparities and promoting health equity. Experimental methods can help researchers delineate these causal pathways. In this manuscript, we illustrate how virtual reality (VR) can be used by researchers in experimental studies to advance discrimination science. Method: We summarize current findings on the health effects of discrimination. We describe common methodological approaches that have been employed in discrimination science and discuss some of their limitations. Arguments for the potential benefits of using VR to advance discrimination science are provided. Results: VR has the potential to facilitate ecologically valid experiments that examine individuals' responses to racism and discrimination-related experiences in real-time. Conclusions: VR offers scientists an innovative method that can be used in experimental studies to help delineate how racism and discrimination might lead to health problems in POCI. Still, VR is new to discrimination science; thus, research is necessary to empirically delineate the advantages and possible disadvantages of using VR in studies on discrimination. Public Significance Statement Racism and discrimination drive racial and ethnic health disparities. Virtual reality can be used in experimental studies to enhance the ecological validity of research on the health effects of racism and discrimination-related experiences. Virtual reality also has the potential of accelerating practical efforts directed at addressing the negative effects of discrimination.