Katie Pearce

Virtual reality adds empathy to dementia care

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 14:52:46 +0000

Virtual reality adds empathy to dementia care Mary Cunningham Fri, 06/06/2025 - 10:52

At a conference on aging two years ago, Li-Mei Chen slipped on a pair of virtual reality (VR) goggles and found herself inside the mind of a person with dementia.

The simulation cast her as an older adult in the grips of delusion: frozen in fear at the end of a hallway, watching the floor disappear beneath rising water. “There was no actual flooding,” Chen recalled, “but I could feel the panic.”

Assistant Professor Li-Mei Chen partnered with fellow social work professor Megumi Inoue to launch a pilot to train certified nursing assistants through virtual reality. Photo provided.

Chen, an assistant professor of social work in the College of Public Health at ��, specializes in aging and dementia and immediately recognized the technology’s potential for nursing home staff. She imagined caregivers seeing what she saw and walking away with a new kind of understanding and empathy for their dementia patients.

Working with Japanese company Jolly Good Inc. to adapt their VR technology, Chen launched a pilot this spring to train certified nursing assistants (CNAs) at a Northern Virginia nursing home. The three-part program combined immersive VR scenarios with online lessons and group discussions.

Wearing headsets, participants stepped into the disoriented minds of dementia patients—experiencing the confusion, fear, and memory lapses firsthand. In one scene, a woman lies in bed, panicked. She recognizes her pajamas but not the room surrounding her, and wonders aloud, “Where is my husband?”

Chen partnered with fellow social work professor Megumi Inoue to design the educational framework. The VR footage, originally produced in Japan, was updated for English-speaking users through artificial intelligence (AI)-generated voiceovers.

Support for an unsung profession

Beyond improving patient care, the project aims to support caregivers working in a field plagued by high turnover, low wages, and minimal if any formal training. In the United States, nursing homes face an estimated 53% annual turnover rate and ongoing recruitment struggles, even as demand for direct care remains high.

Though they perform some of the toughest jobs in health care, Chen said, nursing home staff are often treated as disposable. “There’s little investment in CNAs, because it’s assumed they’ll just leave—but if nursing homes invested, that would change.”

Eventually, Chen hopes to help create new VR scenes set in American care settings and filmed in English. But even with cultural differences, CNAs in the Northern Virginia pilot—many of whom spoke English as a second language—found the material relatable.

Wearing headsets, participants stepped into the disoriented minds of dementia patients—experiencing the confusion, fear, and memory lapses of dementia firsthand. Photo provided.

“They said, ‘We have seen this. We’ve experienced this scenario in here,’” said Zeynep Senturk Mannix, a George Mason Master of Social Work student who helped Chen facilitate the sessions. “They didn’t even register that the actors were Japanese.”

For many of the CNAs in the program, the experience marked their first exposure to any dementia-specific training. Mannix suggested that the sessions provided a sense of validation. “Their ideas were valuable, and they were able to help shape the future of this study.”

Chen and her team are now analyzing feedback, with plans to present their findings at the American Public Health Association conference in November. They’re also working to refine the VR content and training materials, in hopes of expanding the program in the future to additional care facilities.

Chen sees VR not as a silver bullet, but one tool to support more thoughtful training. Her framework rests upon relationship-centered care, which prioritizes empathy, trust, and human connection.

“It’s about understanding the person, and building a connection that’s beyond client and provider,” she said.

Chen’s project is supported by two grants:

• George Mason College of Public Health Pilot Award (2025-2026): Relationship-Centered Care for Formal and Informal Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia: VR and Multi-modal Approaches.

• Geriatric Training and Education (GTE) Initiative at the Virginia Center of Aging (2024-2025): Immersive Training: Enhancing Relationship-Centered Care in Nursing Homes through VR

Learn about more research at George Mason

In This Story

Li-Mei Chen, PhD

Megumi Inoue, PhD

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A global view of men’s experiences with partner violence

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 29 May 2025 19:41:21 +0000

A global view of men’s experiences with partner violence Mary Cunningham Thu, 05/29/2025 - 15:41

More than two decades ago, �� researcher Denise Hines began investigating a topic most researchers wouldn’t touch: men as victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). She and collaborator Emily Douglas were the first in the United States to earn federal funding for this line of research, publishing studies that challenged entrenched gender assumptions and provoked debate in the field.

The Routledge Handbook of Men’s Victimization in Intimate Relationships, co-edited by Denise Hines. Photo provided.

Their new book, The Routledge Handbook of Men’s Victimization in Intimate Relationships, offers the most thorough international synthesis of this topic to date. Drawing on research from 31 contributors across five continents, it surveys how men experience abuse across places as varied as Uganda’s rural villages, the cities of China, and crisis shelters in Denmark.

“What makes this book different is its global perspective,” says Hines, the Elisabeth Shirley Enochs Endowed Professor of Social Work at George Mason. “Most of the existing literature has been based in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. We wanted to broaden the lens.”

Hines co-edited the volume with Douglas, professor of social work and child advocacy at Montclair State University, and Louise Dixon, pro vice-chancellor of education at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland.

Geared toward both academics and frontline professionals—including therapists, social workers, law enforcement, and legal advocates—the book highlights where current systems fall short and prescribes changes needed in prevention, policy, and services for male IPV victims.

Denise Hines, Elisabeth Shirley Enochs Endowed Professor of Social Work at ��. Photo by: Creative Services/��

Hines authored two central chapters, reviewing international studies on heterosexual men abused by female partners. She first focuses on English-speaking countries, where the research is more established. Her second chapter surveys a more fragmented but growing body of work from non-English-speaking regions across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

“I think this work gave me a better global sense of what colleagues are working on,” Hines says. “It also showed where the gaps are—for example, there’s far less research coming out of Latin America than Africa.”

As the book’s preface notes, the field of family violence has historically excluded male victims from the narrative. Early researchers who challenged that framework—such as Murray Straus, Suzanne Steinmetz, and Richard Gelles—faced intense backlash, including bomb threats, campaigns to have their tenure revoked, and defamation. Hines recalls similar reactions to her early work, including an online accusation that she was a male abuser using his academic standing to further abuse women and provide excuses to male abusers.

Despite that resistance, the field has evolved. Hines’ new handbook urges a more inclusive, evidence-based approach, accounting for men’s experiences across cultures, ages, sexual orientations, and social contexts.

“Partner violence doesn’t fit one mold,” Hines says. “Our laws and our systems need to change to become more inclusive of the range of victims of partner violence.”

Topics

IPV

Intimate Partner Violence

Social Work Research

Research

College of Public Health

How resilience, caring, and lived experience created a social worker

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 08 May 2025 20:05:41 +0000

How resilience, caring, and lived experience created a social worker Mary Cunningham Thu, 05/08/2025 - 16:05

Before she ever considered social work as a profession, Rocío Rodríguez Morales was already an advocate for her family, starting at a young age.

Growing up in Southern California as the oldest of five in a Mexican American home, Rodríguez acted as her family’s unofficial translator and guide—managing doctor’s appointments, school meetings, and social services. “I was doing things most children don’t have to do,” she said.

Rocio Rodríguez, MSW '25. Photo by Madalyn Julianna

In high school, Rodríguez’s parents encouraged her to seek out support through the federally funded TRIO program, a college access initiative run through local universities that helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds. “They said, 'I don’t know how to teach you about financial aid, so go ask the lady you see every Saturday.'"

The program opened doors for her to tour college campuses, spend summers in dorms, and get help with tutoring and admissions.

Rodríguez became the first in her family to attend college, earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, then a master's in education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Her background led her to roles assisting military families and helping students navigate college and financial aid. But in 2020, when she took a job as a case manager for Exodus Recovery—a California nonprofit serving veterans, Medicaid patients, and people facing housing instability—her path came into focus. “I called my parents and said, ‘I found a job doing what I’ve always done: helping people,’” she said.

The team surrounding her, meanwhile, was packed with social workers. "All of them kept telling me, 'You should become a social worker, too. Just do it.'"

“That was my community”

When life as a Marine Corps spouse uprooted her young family cross country to Virginia, Rodríguez enrolled in the online Master of Social Work (MSW) program at ��. By that point, it was clear that the formal degree wasn’t just an option—it was a necessity. “Doors for jobs kept closing because I didn’t have my MSW,” she said. “And I needed a career I could carry with me, wherever life took us.”

She began her degree during one of the most tumultuous periods of her life in 2022. Isolated from loved ones out West and newly pregnant with her third child, she was helping her husband recover from an injury that led to his medical retirement while also coping with her mother’s immigration challenges. “It was a very vulnerable time,” she said.

Rodríguez reached out to George Mason faculty for support—not knowing exactly what she needed, just knowing she couldn’t do it alone. “I finally sent that email saying, ‘I need help,’” she says—and in return she found empathy, flexibility, and guidance toward resources.

The Mason Community-Academic Partnerships in Behavioral Health (CAP-BH) Program in the Department of Social Work’s became her anchor, providing a $10,000 stipend, training in trauma-informed care and telehealth, and virtual reality-based therapy simulations. She found herself part of a close-knit cohort of about 30 peers.

“That was my community,” Rodríguez said.

Behind the scenes, her husband was a steady source of support. “There were days I’d rush from dropping off the kids straight into a Zoom class, and my husband would be sliding a coffee or plate of food next to me," she said.

Making it official

As Rodríguez worked toward her degree, her career in Virginia expanded. She first led the education arm of a foster care company for unaccompanied children at Adore Children and Family Services, then started conducting foster parent home studies. Since August 2023, she has served as program director for Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area’s (LSSNCA) specialized foster care program, helping place unaccompanied refugee minors in safe and supportive homes.

She’s seen the impact firsthand, like with the young man in her program who’s now pursuing a college degree, supporting his recently resettled family, and taking on a “big brother role” to the new kids at LSSNCA. “He shares what worked for him with others,” she said. “That’s exactly what we want.”

Rodríguez will officially become a social worker on May 15, the day she graduates from George Mason. The same week, she will take the podium as the College of Public Health’s student degree celebration speaker.

From there, she’ll begin logging 3,000 clinical hours, part of her long-term goal to one day open her own practice. “There’s so much stigma around mental health, especially in the communities I care about,” she said. “I want to build a practice that feels safe for military families and Spanish-speaking families."

Rodríguez is even nudging her husband to consider joining her in the field. “I keep telling him, ‘You’ve been my partner through all of this—you’d make a great social worker, too,’” she said.

Connect with the Alumni Association

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master of social work

Health administration major navigates the intersection of business and health

Taylor Thomas — Thu, 01 May 2025 15:13:54 +0000

Health administration major navigates the intersection of business and health Taylor Thomas Thu, 05/01/2025 - 11:13

Growing up, Claire Leonard got a glimpse of what health care could look like beyond hospital walls. Her aunt, a former nurse, had risen to a leadership role at UNC Health, managing systems and people instead of patients.

Claire Leonard. Photo provided.

“It showed me there are ways to make a difference without being on the clinical side,” says Leonard, now a senior at ��’s College of Public Health.

Leonard describes her Bachelor of Science in Health Administration major as “kind of a business degree, but with a health focus,” with coursework spanning finance, strategic planning, and leadership, alongside a deep dive into U.S. health care systems. Through her studies—and electives in statistical tools R and SAS—she’s discovered a knack for working with health data.

“I realized I’m good on the data side, and working with coding tools,” she says. “It made me see that’s the direction I want to go next.”

Raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Leonard chose George Mason for the strength of its health programs as well as its proximity to Washington, D.C. “I wanted to spread my wings and exist outside of where I grew up,” she says.

After graduating in December, she plans to pursue a master’s in health informatics. “It’s about making sure technology like electronic health records systems work smoothly—and using their information to actually improve patient care,” she says.

Currently Leonard serves as a research assistant on two research projects focused on aging populations, helping College of Public Health faculty draft literature reviews and discussion sections. “Working on new research has only deepened my interest in pursuing graduate education and learning as much as I can to add value to health care systems and add perspective to areas of health care where change is needed,” she says.

Leonard also works for the Office of Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR), filming and editing videos that celebrate student research across campus. The experience helped her land an internship last summer with Riverside Health System’s philanthropic foundation, where she worked on social media strategy. Leonard also currently works part-time at a chiropractic office handling insurance and patient records.

“The jobs I’ve had, and the people I’ve met through them, have helped shape my experience,” Leonard says. “Each one has helped me understand another layer of how health care works.”

Learn more about George Mason’s BS in Health Administration program.

Learn more about George Mason’s MS in Health Informatics program.

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CPH students

Department of Health Administration and Policy

Health Administration

Students

College of Public Health convenes panel on a growing public health crisis—social isolation

Mary Cunningham — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:10:05 +0000

College of Public Health convenes panel on a growing public health crisis—social isolation Mary Cunningham Wed, 04/16/2025 - 16:10

When �� student Jawad H. first heard talk of reducing hours at the 24/7 campus dining hall, he saw more than a logistical issue—he saw a threat to a rare space where students could connect and stave off isolation. “I ran into a friend there at 11 p.m.,” he said during a recent College of Public Health panel. “By the time we finished talking, it was 3 a.m.”

As a member of the Student Government at the time, Jawad helped mobilize his peers to activate to preserve the dining hall’s hours—and defend its role as a social lifeline.

The theme and importance of intentional connection ran throughout “Stronger Together: The Impact of Social Ties on Public Health,” an April 9 panel at George Mason's Fairfax �� hosted by the College of Public Health. This year, the annual National Public Health Week “Conversations and Connections” event explored a growing recognition that loneliness isn’t just a personal issue but a public health threat.

Moderator Dean Melissa Perry and the panelists. Photo by Mary Cunningham/CPH

“Perhaps nothing has changed more profoundly in recent years than how we interact as human beings,” said Melissa Perry, dean of the College of Public Health, who moderated the panel. “We may check our phones hundreds of times a day, but go days without a real conversation. That disconnect has real health consequences.”

Two recent events helped elevate the issue: the collective isolation the world experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a 2023 advisory from then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declaring loneliness “a national epidemic.” Murthy’s report links social isolation to a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 32% increased risk of stroke, and a 50% increased risk of dementia for older adults. Loneliness, he warned, is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

“I’m glad that there’s a spotlight, because … loneliness has been sort of relegated to the purview of, this is an individual’s problem, as opposed to a systemic, structural problem,” said Rachel Wernicke, George Mason’s chief mental health officer. “We’re seeing more acceptance that there’s a collective responsibility for addressing this.”

Moderator Dean Melissa Perry and the panelists. Photo by Mary Cunningham/CPH

Panelists focused on two groups especially vulnerable to isolation: older adults and young people.

George Mason alumna Mary Louise Pomeroy, PhD Health Service Research '22, a postdoctoral researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, noted that 1 in 3 older adults report frequent loneliness, and around 25% are socially isolated. “What’s unique about older adults,” she said, “is the combination of high health needs with declining social support.”

For many in this population, technology—like smartphones, video chats, or even “social robots” in nursing homes—can be critical for easing isolation.

For young people, though, technology can sometimes have the opposite effect. “Their mood is just dropping,” said Wernicke, describing the impact of “passively scrolling” through social media. “But they’re not actually interacting—it’s the illusion of interaction.”

A 2022 national survey found that 60% of U.S. college students reported feeling “very lonely” in the past year.

Connections won’t emerge without deliberate intent, said LaToya Thomas, principal and founder of the urban planning consultancy Brick & Story, which focuses on community resilience. “We might need to do a little work, and that work is actually investing in our own inner curiosity about other humans,” she said. “And that curiosity might actually help pull someone out of a state of loneliness and isolation.”

Thomas pointed to tailgates before football games as one example of humans creating connections from inert spaces. “There is generally nothing exciting about these parking lots,” she said. But “people come and they bring chairs, they bring paraphernalia for their teams, they bring barbecue pits, they bring music. They literally create a space where there is no space. It’s really the intentionality of what we as social animals decide to do in terms of making spaces—as complex or simple as they can be—into something that is really dynamic.”

Watch the full panel here,

Past “Conversations and Connections” events have covered topics including climate change and public health (2024) and violence prevention (2023).

Learn more about the College of Public Health

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College of Public Health

The Ozempic shortage is over. What now?

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 20:00:56 +0000

The Ozempic shortage is over. What now? Mary Cunningham Fri, 04/11/2025 - 16:00

After nearly three years of backorders and pharmacy scrambles, the high-demand weight-loss drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are finally back in full supply.

Martin Binks. Photo by Mary Cunningham/CPH

The FDA recently declared an end to the nationwide shortage of their active ingredients, semaglutide and tirzepatide. During the shortage, pharmacies were temporarily allowed to sell “compounded” versions—custom-mixed alternatives made from raw ingredients. But now that the FDA-approved brands are widely available, patients are facing new questions about access, safety, and ongoing care.

Martin Binks, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at �� and a researcher and clinician with expertise in obesity, explains what this moment means for patients, providers, and public health.

Can people still get compounded versions of these drugs?

In most cases, no. The FDA rule is very clear. Now that the shortage is resolved, prescribers are only allowed to prescribe the safe and effective FDA-approved versions of these medicines—meaning pharmacies are prohibited from creating off-label compounded versions, even so-called “exact copies.” 

There will be rare exceptions when compounded versions are allowed. For example, if a patient has a specific medical need, such as an allergy, which can be resolved through minor changes in the drug’s formulation. 

If the FDA were to declare another shortage of these drugs, pharmacies would be allowed to sell compounded versions again. But this is very unlikely to happen given the huge investments companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are making in these medications.

Why are the compounded versions no longer allowed? What are the risks for patients?

Compounded versions are not approved by the FDA, meaning they are not subject to testing for safety and efficacy. This creates a lot of risks when the products are used by large populations. Also, the FDA versions are subject to post-approval monitoring for any new safety issues, compounded versions are not.

While many compounding pharmacies did act ethically during the shortage, and within the scope of the FDA’s temporary rules, the public can’t always identify the difference between those and “bad actors” selling dangerous counterfeits.

Will “bad actors” continue to sell the non-FDA approved versions?

Given the nature of demand for these weight loss medications, it’s very likely dangerous entities will continue to sell unapproved compounded versions of these drugs, creating a risk to public health until or unless we can improve access to the FDA-approved medicines. A recent JAMA Network Open study showed that nearly half of all online pharmacies selling semaglutide were illegal operations, with some products containing dangerous impurities or excessive doses. Beyond the adverse effects a patient could directly suffer from this, it may also deter people from using the well-tested, well-controlled FDA versions of these drugs that could actually improve their health, essentially creating a double-edged threat to public health.

What’s the right way to use weight loss medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide?

These medications are intended to be used alongside overall healthy habits. Used appropriately, they can help manage appetite and metabolism for people with obesity, but they’re most effective when combined with lifestyle changes like healthy eating, physical activity, sleep, and stress management. It’s also essential that patients meet medical criteria for use.

How can patients protect themselves now?

Be cautious about where you get your medication. Don’t rely on online sources that promise cheap or no prescription access. Talk to a licensed health-care provider about safe, approved options. And keep in mind that bad actors may continue trying to sell counterfeit products even as legitimate compounding operations shut down.

Martin Binks, Ph.D., MBA, is professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at ��’s College of Public Health. A metabolic disease scientist and clinician who is recognized as an international expert on obesity science and practice. Binks has spent more than 25 years treating patients with obesity through behavioral, pharmacologic, and surgical approaches. His research spans brain health and cognition, 3-D food printing, and nutrition’s role in chronic disease. Binks previously held academic and leadership positions at Texas Tech University, Duke University Medical Center, and he is a fellow of The Obesity Society, the European Society of Preventive Medicine, World Obesity and the New York Academy of Medicine.

Media inquiries: To schedule an interview with Martin Binks, contact Associate Director of Marketing and Communications Mary Cunningham at mcunni7@gmu.edu.

Disclosures:

Martin Binks has interacted with a wide range of pharmaceutical companies in his fundraising role as Secretary Treasurer at The Obesity Society

Martin Binks has also received research funding from Novo Nordisk related to earlier versions of the GLP-1 medicines (liraglutide) and served on the speaker’s bureau at Novo Nordisk during the launch of Saxenda®

Martin Binks holds common stock in Eli Lily, Novo Nordisk and Aardvark Therapeutics.

Topics

Obesity

Nutrition and Weight Management

Katie Pearce

Virtual reality adds empathy to dementia care

Support for an unsung profession

Learn about more research at George Mason

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College of Public Health convenes panel on a growing public health crisis—social isolation

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The Ozempic shortage is over. What now?

Can people still get compounded versions of these drugs?

Why are the compounded versions no longer allowed? What are the risks for patients?

Will “bad actors” continue to sell the non-FDA approved versions?

What’s the right way to use weight loss medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide?

How can patients protect themselves now?

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