technologies, some stand out as a very useful tool
for psychologists in interventions to treat specific
phobias, which are Virtual Reality (VR) and
Augmented Reality (AR) (Tsai et al., 2018; Opris et
al., 2012; Juan and Pérez, 2010). Studies suggest the
efficacy of VR and IR in the treatment of specific
phobias, however, many of them point out the need
for more research in the field and, therefore, to
support the use of these technologies as a
complementary and facilitative form of therapeutic
interventions (Haydu et al., 2016).
AR technology is used to blend digital (virtual)
content into the real world: computer-generated
images along with relevant information are
displayed in the user's real view field. It is able to
give support to different areas and applications
satisfying the need to connect the real world with
virtual worlds (Hugues et al., 2011). It also enhances
the user experience through mobile applications
designed specifically to utilize this technology,
thereby integrating the mobile health – mHealth -
area (WHO, 2011). Analysts predict that the global
AR market will grow at an annual growth rate of
65.24% over the period 2017-2021. Treatments with
the use of Augmented Reality with exposure to
phobic stimulus prove effective not only when
compared to other treatments, but also through
measurement with well-defined inventories and
scales, as in the study by Wrzesien et al. (2013).
Considering the high prevalence of anxiety
disorders in our environment, specifically the
phobias, coupled with modernization and current
technological advances, such as Augmented Reality
was necessary, in order to corroborate the tendency
of current research, to develop a functional
prototype, using AR, that can be applied by
psychologists as an important complementary tool in
the treatment of specific phobias (eg
arachnophobia), with clinical-therapeutic purpose.
2 METHODS
Before applying and testing the prototype in
participants with arachnophobia, three phases were
performed: 1) development of the ExPhobia
prototype, 2) usability test and 3) development of an
application protocol; and a phase that is still in
progress which is: 4) intervention. In order to
perform these phases, this research had as
methodological basis the evaluation of programs,
which had been developed to support the future
application of the almost-experimental method.
The evaluation of programs "is about researches
that propose and implement programs to achieve
some positive effect on a group of individuals"
(Cozby, 2003). Within the Program Evaluation,
Rossi et al. (1999) identified five (5) types of
evaluations, namely: 1) needs assessment; 2)
evaluation of the program theory; 3) evaluation of
the process; 4) evaluation of the result and 5)
evaluation of efficiency. The present study aims the
two first evaluations, that is, the needs assessment,
based on an extensive bibliographic research, and
the evaluation of the program theory, covering
usability tests and development of a protocol.
For the future application of the prototype, the
fourth phase aims to use an almost experimental
method (Cozby, 2003) and intends to use a single
subject delineation, in which each participant will be
exposed to an Initial Bond, then the measuring for
the basis line (A), then they will pass through the
Intervention condition (B) and at the end will be
submitted to the new evaluation, in the Final Result
(A) (Sampaio et al., 2008).
For data collection, one (1) Questionnaire will be
used to measure the level of the spider phobia - Fear
of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ), one (1) Sense
Inventory of Presence (SIP), adapted for Augmented
Reality (RA), one (1) Subjective Units of
Discomfort Scale (WASP), and a portable device to
measure heart rate (Fitbit Alta HR®).
In the initial Baseline (A) the FSQ and SUDS
questionnaire will be applied to understand the level
of phobia of the participant, in addition to exposing
the participant to the equipment that will be used
(Oculus Rift), while collecting the heart rate (Fitbit
Alta HR®) to have a base before the intervention.
The Intervention (B) does not have a necessary
number of steps to be performed per session, always
respecting the participant's time. There will be eight
(8) steps in total and each change from one stage to
the next is already pre-determined. In the final result
- Final Baseline (A) will be the reapplication of the
SUDS, ISP and FSQ tests, being the same of the
beginning of the treatment, for data collection and
comparison between the Baseline and the Final
Result; besides contrasting the data recorded in the
Fitbit Alta HR®, for physiological measurements.
For the statistical analysis of the collected data,
the IBM® SPSS program will be used. It should be
emphasized that the data of the experimental
sessions are the primary data and the questionnaire
data are secondary.