Rita Hitching, MSc

Associate Lecturer
University of Newcastle, California, United States

Rita Hitching is completing a PhD in Psychiatry at the School of Medicine and Public Health, at the University of Newcastle in Australia. She's investigating the feasibility and efficacy of virtual reality (VR) as a delivery tool for the treatment of insomnia. Established insomnia treatments are effective, yet not always suitable or available. Consequently, prevalence rates remain high, and insomnia continues to cause substantial societal and healthcare burden. Her proposal is informed by the clinical utility of VR in treating an array of psychological conditions, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and pain - all indisputably comorbid with insomnia. However, the application of VR to directly target sleep disturbances including insomnia is largely unexplored, with less than a handful of studies to date exploring its potential. VR offers the possibility of transforming treatment delivery and accessibility at an unprecedented scale. If her findings support the feasibility and efficacy of VR in treating insomnia, Rita plans to develop a treatment response model to facilitate clinical adoption. By expanding on existing treatments for insomnia, she hopes to contribute to reducing associated morbidity and mortality whilst concurrently reducing the risk of psychiatric disorders.

I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Presentation(s):

• Virtual reality treatments for frequent health complaints in Veterans at the Polytrauma Department

  Wednesday, November 9, 2022
  4:45 PM – 6:00 PM