Second Life

Second Life, a virtual metaverse, was created by Linden Labs in 2001 and is defined by its creator as a “3D world, imagined, created and owned by its residents.”  This virtual environment thrives on the interactions of real world individuals and their CGI residents or avatars. The avatars interact with people, businesses and organizations in a 3D environment.  There are currently 7.5 million residents in Second Life.

The Center for Connected Health recognizes Second Life as a new, unique, and rich communications medium that deserves attention and research.

Center for Connected Health Models of Care

Second Life

The aim of this program is to determine whether the Relaxation Response (RR), designed by the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, can be successfully taught using the medium Second Life.

9 Comments

Center for Connected Health Models of Care

Second Life

The aim of this program is to determine whether the Relaxation Response (RR), designed by the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, can be successfully taught using the medium Second Life.

9 Comments

Resources

Get Started in Second Life

Follow these steps to get started in Second Life.

Second Life: Healthcare Enters the Virtual World

First Real-Time, Interactive Healthcare Conference Held in Second Life, Featuring Panel From 'Real Life' Partners Connected Health Conference

Resources

Get Started in Second Life

Follow these steps to get started in Second Life.

Second Life: Healthcare Enters the Virtual World

First Real-Time, Interactive Healthcare Conference Held in Second Life, Featuring Panel From 'Real Life' Partners Connected Health Conference

amphitheater small2008 Symposium - October 27-28, Boston, MA
Who Provides, Who Decides, Who Pays: Consumers, Clinicians & Business Models in the Connected Care Era  Click here to learn more

 

News & Articles Show More

Presence in Virtual Worlds Could Help Health Plans Achieve Real-World Behavior ChangeSecond Life is a virtual world of avatars, sims and Linden dollars, and CIGNA, Corp., Partners HealthCare System, Inc. and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are among the first health organizations to establish beachheads on its shores. But it's not, they say, because Second Life and other social networking media (e.g., Web sites) are new and flashy. Rather, their ventures are a response to changes in the way consumers are communicating and accessing health information.
Thursday, August 28, 2008 | Health Plan Week
Obese people get online chance to lose weightPeople who are obese in the real world will get the opportunity to participate in a research project conducted entirely in the virtual world to help their avatars - and hopefully their real-life selves - lose weight and get in better shape.
Friday, August 8, 2008 | San Francisco Chronicle
University of Arkansas Researchers Combine Technologies to Heal Patients, VirtuallyUniversity of Arkansas researchers seeking new ways to make health care more efficient and cost-effective have built a new kind of hospital: one that uses location aware systems, sensors, smart devices, radio-frequency identification and virtual reality.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008 | University of Arkansas
Second Life offers healing, therapeutic options for usersFounded in 2003 as a virtual community built by users, Second Life rose to cultural phenomenon status by 2006 - only to suffer media backlash over its glitches. But it continues to grow.
Sunday, July 13, 2008 | San Francisco Chronicle
Google Launches Virtual World Called 'Lively'Google on Tuesday launched a Web-based virtual world called Lively as a way to make the social Web more dynamic.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 | InformationWeek

News & Articles Show Less

Presence in Virtual Worlds Could Help Health Plans Achieve Real-World Behavior ChangeSecond Life is a virtual world of avatars, sims and Linden dollars, and CIGNA, Corp., Partners HealthCare System, Inc. and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are among the first health organizations to establish beachheads on its shores. But it's not, they say, because Second Life and other social networking media (e.g., Web sites) are new and flashy. Rather, their ventures are a response to changes in the way consumers are communicating and accessing health information.
Thursday, August 28, 2008 | Health Plan Week
Obese people get online chance to lose weightPeople who are obese in the real world will get the opportunity to participate in a research project conducted entirely in the virtual world to help their avatars - and hopefully their real-life selves - lose weight and get in better shape.
Friday, August 8, 2008 | San Francisco Chronicle
University of Arkansas Researchers Combine Technologies to Heal Patients, VirtuallyUniversity of Arkansas researchers seeking new ways to make health care more efficient and cost-effective have built a new kind of hospital: one that uses location aware systems, sensors, smart devices, radio-frequency identification and virtual reality.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008 | University of Arkansas
Second Life offers healing, therapeutic options for usersFounded in 2003 as a virtual community built by users, Second Life rose to cultural phenomenon status by 2006 - only to suffer media backlash over its glitches. But it continues to grow.
Sunday, July 13, 2008 | San Francisco Chronicle
Google Launches Virtual World Called 'Lively'Google on Tuesday launched a Web-based virtual world called Lively as a way to make the social Web more dynamic.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 | InformationWeek
Cigna Launches Virtual Health Community To Promote Healthy LivesThe pilot program, located in a three-dimensional virtual world called Second Life, will offer virtual seminars, interactive displays and educational games to encourage preventive care and health care behavior changes.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 | Healthcare IT News
Cigna deploys a Second Life island for health educationHoping to make healthcare education hip, Cigna Healthcare is announcing today it has created a virtual environment in the Second Life virtual world to educate people on how to improve their health.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 | VentureBeat
How Second Life Affects Real LifeResearch suggests that the qualities you acquire online can change your conduct in the real world, often without your awareness.
Monday, May 12, 2008 | Time
 

Newsletter Signup

Go