• [1] Ofoghi, Zahra & Gromala, Diane & Kagiri, Timothy. (2023). Neuroscientific Implications for the Development of Virtual Reality for Patients with Chronic Pain. 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Pain Society.

“Machine learning, specifically topic modeling with Latent Dirichlet Allocation, was used to analyze research themes in the field of virtual reality (VR) and pain. Guidelines for the design and development of VR applications based on sensory-perceptual alterations in chronic pain were provided.”

• [2] Zhou, Siyu & Gromala, Diane & Wang, Leyu. (2023). Ethical Challenges of Virtual Reality Technology Interventions for the Vulnerabilities of Patients With Chronic Pain: Exploration of Technician Responsibility. Journal of medical Internet research. 25. e49237. 10.2196/49237. DOI:10.2196/49237

“Emerging virtual reality (VR) technology has shown early promise as a nonpharmacological analgesic for chronic pain, but it also introduces ethical risks and patient vulnerabilities. Our paper examines these vulnerabilities and ethical dilemmas in VR interventions for chronic pain, aiming to raise awareness among technology developers and guide responsible VR technology deployment.”

• [1] Kiaei Ziabari, Seyedeh Pegah & Ofoghi, Zahra & Rodrigues, Emma & Gromala, Diane & Moreno, Sylvain. (2022). Investigating the Role of Having an Avatar in Virtual Reality on Pain Alleviation and Embodiment in Patients With Pain Using Electroencephalogram: A Neuroimaging Protocol. Frontiers in Virtual Reality. 2. 10.3389/frvir.2021.775764. DOI:10.3389/frvir.2021.775764

“VR has shown promise as a non-pharmacological pain management tool, with its analgesic effects potentially linked to the Sense of Embodiment (SoE) experienced in VR environments. Despite evidence correlating brain signals, pain levels, and SoE, the physiological brain changes associated with VR avatars remain under-researched. We propose a rigorous intervention trial using EEG recordings to investigate the impact of VR avatars on pain levels and SoE in chronic pain patients, aiming to establish a methodological framework for future VR-analgesia research.”

• [2] Shraim MA, Sluka KA, Sterling M, … Ushida T, Williamson OD, et al. (2022). “Features and methods to discriminate between mechanism-based categories of pain experienced in the musculoskeletal system: a Delphi expert consensus study.” In Pain, the journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). 163:9, pp.1812-1828.  DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002577

“Three significant challenges hinder the development of a standardized method for distinguishing pain mechanism categories. The lack of direct in vivo measures to confirm neurobiological mechanisms responsible for pain, the presence of mixed pain mechanisms in individuals, and divergent interpretations in the literature complicate the validation of these categories. This Delphi expert consensus study aimed to identify unique and shared features across nociceptive, neuropathic, and nociplastic pain mechanisms, achieving consensus on 196 features that could aid in clinical and research discrimination of these pain types.”

• [3] Warke, Bhairavi & Gromala, Diane & Gupta, Ankit & Shaw, Christopher & Li, Linda. (2022). Wild Intercepts: A Novel Approach to Usability Testing of a ‘Citizen Science’ Portal, Developed for Understanding the ‘Burdens of Pain’ Among Citizens. 10.1007/978-3-031-17902-0_13. DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-17902-0_13

“Pain, whether acute or chronic, profoundly affects an individual’s biopsychosocial quality of life. Our research team developed the Citizen Science for Burdens of Pain (CS-BoP) portal to gather data on the impact of pain from the public in British Columbia. To ensure diverse and representative participation, we conducted a usability study called Wild Intercepts at a busy suburban mall, where 30 participants tested the portal and provided feedback through interviews and surveys, offering valuable insights into the portal’s usability and participants’ unique contexts and motivations.”

• [4] Kagiri T, Warke B, Juliano G, Zupan K, and Gromala D. Challenges and Strategies in Teaching a Foundational Graphic Design Course During COVID-19. In the International Conference on Typography & Visual Communication’s Scientific Event, 5-9 July 2022, Thessaloniki, Greece.
• [5] Warke B, Gromala D, Shaw C, and Gupta A. (2022). A Diverse Patient-Centered Approach to Researching Burdens of Pain: a Citizen Science project in British Columbia. IASP 2022 World Congress on Pain, Toronto, Canada.
• [6] Warke B, Gromala D, Gupta A, Shaw C, Li L, Wang S, Zhang J, Wong C, Ziabari S. (2022). Into the wild: Intercept study testing a ‘Citizen Science’ platform for understanding the ‘burdens of pain’. Canadian Journal of Pain. Canadian Pain Society’s 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting, Montreal, Canada.
• [7] Warke B, Gromala D, Gupta A, Shaw C, Li L.(2022). Using affective images as prompts to better understand the ‘burdens of pain’. Canadian Journal of Pain. Canadian Pain Society’s 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting, Montreal, Canada.

• [1] Gromala, D., Ofoghi, Z. (2021). “Managing Chronic Pain using VR.” Applied Virtual Reality in Healthcare, Editor: Robert Fine, International Virtual Reality Healthcare Association. Book chapter.
• [2] Kiaei Ziabari, S., Ofoghi, Z., A. Rodrigues E., Gromala, D. & Moreno, S. (2021). “Investigating the role of having an avatar in virtual reality on pain alleviation and embodiment in patients with pain using electroencephalogram: a neuroimaging protocol,” in Frontiers in Virtual Reality, Special Issue: Virtual Reality in Medicine. (12 pages). https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.775764

“Despite evidence suggesting that VR’s analgesic effects may be linked to the Sense of Embodiment (SoE), there is a lack of research on the brain physiology changes associated with using a virtual avatar in VR for pain alleviation. To address this, we propose an intervention trial using EEG recordings to evaluate the impact of a virtual avatar on pain levels and SoE in CP patients, aiming to establish a methodological framework for future VR-analgesia studies.”

• [3] Ofoghi Z, Kiaei P, Gromala D. Designing and Developing a Comprehensive Pain Neuroscience Education Package for Patients with Chronic Pain. Presented in Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Pain Society 2021. DOI:10.1080/24740527.2021.1906883.

“Pain neuroscience education (PNE) effectively reduces the pain burden in chronic pain patients by explaining the neuroscience of pain and its pathophysiology, but its in-person delivery limits accessibility. The Comprehensive Patient-Centred Pain Education (CoPPE) package addresses this by combining in-person and virtual sessions, including interactive educational interventions, to promote lifestyle changes and improve pain management.”

• [4] Warke B., Li R., Gromala D., Li L., Shaw C., Gupta A., Hoens A., Koehn C., Currie L., Mamdani H., Cooper D., and Loo S. (2021) “The Burden of Pain Symptoms: Designing a patient-centered platform.” 15th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices 2021, Brooklyn, NY, USA. March 3-5, 2021.

“Pain, whether acute or chronic, significantly impairs individuals’ physical, psychological, and social well-being, reducing their quality of life despite often lacking visible biomarkers. The Arthritis Research Center of Canada developed the ‘Citizen Science’ web platform to engage community members in sharing their pain experiences, fostering research into the biopsychosocial burdens of pain. This study outlines the participatory approaches used in developing this platform to inform future patient-oriented research projects.”

• [5] Xin Tong, Diane Gromala, Carman Neustaedter, F. David Fracchia, Yisen Dai, and Zhicong Lu. 2021. Players’ Stories and Secrets in Animal Crossing: New Horizons-Exploring Design Factors for Positive Emotions and Social Interactions in a Multiplayer Online Game. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 5, CHI PLAY, Article 284 (September 2021), 23 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3474711

“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is an online multiplayer game fostering social communication and collaboration, with over 32 million copies sold globally. Our study surveyed 119 players and interviewed 25 between May and December 2020, identifying key social dynamics and positive interactions facilitated by player-generated and game-determined narratives. Our findings highlight the importance of mood-enhancing game worlds, socially impactful activities, player rewards, and integration of NPC narratives to promote positive, safe, and friendly interactions.”

• [1] Tong, X., Wang, X, Cai, Y, Gromala, D, Fan, B, & Wei, K (2020). “I Dreamed of My Hands and Arms Moving Again”: A Case Series Investigating the Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality on Phantom Limb Pain Alleviation” in Frontiers in Neurology, 11, 876. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.00876/full PMID: 32982914.

“Phantom limb pain (PLP) remains a significant treatment challenge, but virtual reality (VR) interventions show promise for analgesic effects. In a study involving five PLP patients undergoing multiple VR sessions over six weeks, participants experienced reduced pain, anxiety, depression, and enhanced embodiment of the virtual body. Additionally, improvements in their ability to move their phantom limbs were observed, suggesting that VR-based sensorimotor experiences may offer long-term benefits for PLP patients.”

• [2] Li LC., Feehan LM., Xie H., Lu N., Shaw CD., Gromala D., Zhu S., Aviña-Zubieta JA., Hoens AM., Koehn C., Tam J., Therrien S., Townsend AF., Noonan G., Backman CL. (2020). “Effects of a 12-Week Multifaceted Wearable-Based Program for People With Knee Osteoarthritis: Randomized Controlled Trial.” JMIR mHealth uHealth. 2020 Jul 3;8(7):e19116. DOI: 10.2196/19116. PMID: 32618578; PMCID: PMC7367519.

“Current guidelines emphasize an active lifestyle for managing knee osteoarthritis (OA), yet up to 90% of patients remain inactive. This randomized controlled trial examined the impact of a 12-week, multifaceted wearable-based program on physical activity and patient outcomes in individuals with knee OA. The study found that the intervention significantly increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and improved perceived sitting habits, highlighting the effectiveness of combining wearable technology, an app, and physiotherapist counseling in enhancing physical activity among knee OA patients.”

• [3] Tong X., Gromala D, Kiaei Ziabari SP, Shaw CD (2020). “Designing a Virtual Reality Game for Promoting Empathy Toward Patients with Chronic Pain: Feasibility and Usability Study.” JMIR Serious Games. 2020 Aug 7;8(3):e17354. DOI: 10.2196/17354. PMID: 32763883; PMCID: PMC7442937.

“The study investigates the impact of the VR game AS IF on fostering empathy for individuals with chronic pain, addressing the persistent stigma surrounding the condition. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the study found significant increases in empathy-related outcomes, particularly in kindness and willingness to help. These results suggest that VR games like AS IF can effectively enhance empathy and offer valuable design insights for future VR-based empathy interventions.”

• [4] Li LC., Feehan LM., Xie H., Lu N., Shaw C., Gromala D., Aviña-Zubieta JA., Koehn C., Hoens AM., English K., Tam J., Therrien S., Townsend AF., Noonan G., Backman CL. (2020). “Efficacy of a Physical Activity Counseling Program With Use of a Wearable Tracker in People With Inflammatory Arthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.”Arthritis Care & Research (Hoboken). 2020 Dec;72(12):1755-1765. DOI: 10.1002/acr.24199. PMID: 32248626  Clinical Trial.

“The study evaluated the effectiveness of a multifaceted counseling intervention on physical activity and patient outcomes in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The intervention, which included education, Fitbit usage, web feedback, and follow-up calls from a physical therapist, significantly improved pain and perceived walking habits, particularly in RA participants.”

• [5] Ankit Gupta, Tim Heng, Chris Shaw, Diane Gromala, Jenny Leese and Linda Li. 2020. “Oh, I didn’t do a good job: How objective data affects physiotherapist-patient conversations for arthritis patients.” Proceedings of the 14th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 156–165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3421937.3421991

“A physically active lifestyle can greatly enhance mobility and quality of life for individuals with arthritis. FitViz, a web application integrating Fitbit data, was developed to aid physiotherapists during consultations by providing objective physical activity data. A four-week study involving 20 patients and seven physiotherapists revealed that while the use of objective data facilitated more patient-driven and data-informed consultations, it also induced feelings of guilt in patients, highlighting important considerations for the use of pervasive healthcare technology in clinical settings.”

• [6] Ofoghi Z, Kiaei P, Gromala D. (2020). Cooling down the brain in pain: the neuroscience of virtual reality analgesia. In:  IASP virtual series on pain & expo! innovation in research and education (Online only). 2020. https://www.eventscribe.com/2020/IASP-Virtual-Series-on-Pain/aaStatic.asp?SFP=S0RVVFZRQ0dANDg5MA#Neuropathic Pain.
• [7] Gromala D., Ofoghi Z. (2020). How does the virtual meditative walk affect activity and connectivity of the pain-related brain regions in chronic pain patients? design of a clinical, longitudinal MRI study. In: IASP virtual series on pain & expo: innovation in research and education. 2020. https://www.eventscribe.com/2020/IASP-Virtual-Series-on-Pain/aaStatic.asp?SFP=S0RVVFZRQ0dANDg5MA#Neuropathic Pain.
• [8] Tong, X. and Gromala, D. (2020) “Designing and Evaluating VR games for Phantom Limb Pain Management,” Poster 2020 USC Institute for Integrative Health & Wellness Virtual Conference. 14 November 2020.
• [9] Warke, B., Li, R., Gromala, D., Li, L.N., Shaw, C.D., Gupta, A., Hoens, A., Koehn, C., Currie, L., Mamdani, H., Cooper, D. & Loo, S. (2020). “The Burden of Pain Symptoms: A prototype for citizens of British Columbia,” peer-reviewed poster in PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/00325481.2019.1655695
• [10] Xin Tong, Xinxing Wang, Diane Gromala, Bi-Fa Fan, Owen Williamson, Kunlin Wei. (2020). Investigating the Effect of Mirroring Movement in Virtual Reality on Reducing Phantom Limb Pain. IASP’s (International Association for the Study of Pain’s) Conference 2020, (1). IASP,
• [11] Pegah Kiaei, Weina Jin, Ruoyu Li, Diane Gromala, Chris Shaw. (2020). Usability Testing of a Mhealth Application for Managing Chronic Arthritis and Joint Health. Canadian Journal of Pain. CPS (Canadian Pain Society’s) 41th Annual Scientific Conference, Canada (1). Canadian Journal of Pain, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/24740527.2020.1745023
• [12] Ruoyu Li, Diane Gromala, Chris Shaw. (2020). Taxonomy of Interaction Conventions in Instant Messaging Applications and Their Social Implications. DIS 2020, (1). ACM.
• [13] Xin Tong, Xinxing Wang, Diane Gromala, Bi-Fa Fan, Owen Williamson & Kunlin Wei. (2020). A Systematic Review of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Studies for Phantom Limb Pain Alleviation. Canadian Journal of Pain. CPS (Canadian Pain Society’s) 41th Annual Scientific Conference, Canada (1). Canadian Pain Society.
• [14] Diane Gromala, Ziyang Shan, Seyedeh Kiaei, Xin Tong, Chris Shaw. (2020). Cognitive and Embodied Biofeedback in VR: Designing VR Interventions for Long-term Use by Chronic Pain Patients. Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) 2020 Pictorials, Eindhoven, Netherlands (-). ACM Digital Library.

• [1] Tong X., Gromala D., Machuca F. (2019). LumaPath: An Immersive Virtual Reality Game for Encouraging Physical Activity for Senior Arthritis Patients. Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality. Applications and Case Studies. HCII 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 11575. Springer, Cham., Orlando, United States of America (384-397). Springer, Cham.

“Arthritis, prevalent in 20% of the U.S. and 15.8% of the Canadian populations, significantly impairs joint movement and physical activity, with over half of the patients not receiving treatment. Studies suggest that physical exercise can alleviate long-term pain; however, few commercial games target arthritis patients to promote activity and range of motion. To address this, an immersive VR game, LumaPath, was developed and tested in a pilot study, demonstrating its potential to encourage physical activity in senior arthritis patients, although limitations in movement and age were notable factors influencing their gaming experience.”

• [2] Leese, Jenny & Macdonald, Graham & Trần, Châu & Wong, Rosalind & Backman, Catherine & Townsend, Anne & Davis, Aileen & Jones, Allyson & Gromala, Diane & Avina-Zubieta, Antonio & Hoens, Alison & Li, Linda. (2019). Using Physical Activity Trackers in Arthritis Self‐Management: A Qualitative Study of Patient and Rehabilitation Professional Perspectives. Arthritis Care & Research. 71. 10.1002/acr.23780.

“This study compares the perspectives of patients with arthritis and rehabilitation professionals on the use of physical activity trackers (PATs). Focus group sessions were conducted with patients and rehabilitation professionals in three Canadian provinces. Three main themes emerged: 1) both groups saw potential in PATs to improve consultations but were uncertain how to achieve this; 2) concerns were raised about PATs meeting the specific needs of arthritis patients and potential negative impacts; and 3) while PATs might boost motivation in already active patients, there was disagreement on whether PATs alone could motivate increased activity in inactive patients.’

• [3] Li, Ruoyu & Gromala, Diane & Machua, Frederico & Shaw, Christopher. (2019). Non-Realtime Social Presence in LumaPath as a Virtual Reality Therapy: Better Adherence for Chronic Pain Treatment?. 10.4108/eai.20-5-2019.2283484.

“This poster presents a pilot study examining the efficacy of incorporating social components into LumaPath, an Immersive Virtual Environment designed to motivate chronic pain patients, particularly those with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis, to perform range of motion exercises. The study’s findings, along with previous research, suggest that enhancing social presence within such environments may improve patients’ adherence to using assistive tools for managing arthritis and chronic pain.”

• [4] Tong, Xin & Kiaei Ziabari, Seyedeh Pegah & Gromala, Diane & Shaw, Christopher. (2019). “AS IF You Were Me”: Evaluating a Virtual Reality Game for Promoting Empathy towards Chronic Pain Patients. JMIR Serious Games. 8. 10.2196/17354.

Researchers have been exploring the impact of digital media on empathy, with a particular focus on virtual reality (VR) applications. This study developed and evaluated a VR game called AS IF to increase empathy toward individuals with chronic pain, revealing that the game improved both emotional and perspective-taking aspects of empathy. Significant increases were noted in the kindness subscale and the Willingness to Help Scale, indicating the potential effectiveness of VR games in enhancing empathy towards chronic pain sufferers.

• [5] Xin Tong, Henan Diao, Kunlin Wei, Li Hu, Diane Gromala (2019). “Exploration of Body Ownership, Agency and Heat Pain Perception in Virtual Reality” CPS (Canadian Pain Society’s) 40th Annual Scientific Conference, Toronto, 2019.
• [6] Xin Tong, Diane Gromala, Frederico Machuca, Pam Squire, Daehan Kim, Yan Li, Kunlin Wei. “A Serious Immersive Reality Game for Promoting Chronic Arthritis Pain Patients’ General Physical Activity and Range of Motion.” CPS’s (Canadian Pain Society’s) 40th Annual Scientific Conference, Toronto, 2019.
• [7] Xin Tong, Xinxing Wang, BiFa Fan, Yan Li, Kunlin Wei. Case study: a Virtual Reality Approach for Managing Phantom Lower Limb Pain. HCII (Human‐Computer Interaction International), 2019. [In publication]
• [8] Ruoyu Li, Bhairavi Warke, Diane Gromala, Bernie Garrett, Tarnia Taverner. (2019). Does Immersive Virtual Reality Modulate Chronic Pain: A Longitudinal Study Design. Conference poster published in PAINWeek Abstract Book 2019. (2019). Postgraduate Medicine, United States of America (1). Taylor & Francis.
• [9] Ruoyu Li, Diane Gromala, Frederico Machuca, Chris Shaw. (2019). Non-Realtime Social Presence in LumaPath as a Virtual Reality Therapy: Better Adherence for Chronic Pain Treatment?. 13th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, (1-2). European Union Digital Library.

• [1] Weina Jin, Diane Gromala, Junbo Bao, Yabin Guo, Tianpei Shen & Oliver Schulte (2018). “Automatic Pain Level Classification with Physiological Signals using Machine Learning.” CPS’s (Canadian Pain Society’s) 39th Annual Scientific Conference, Montreal, 24–25 May, 2018. (This approach may help to better infer pain from patients who cannot report or express their pain verbally, such as infants or patients with dementia.)
• [2] Jenny Leese, Graham Macdonald, Bao Chau Tran, Rosalind Wong, Catherine Backman, Anne Townsend, Aileen Davis, Allyson Jones, Diane Gromala, Antonio Avina‐Zubieta, Alison Hoens, & Linda Li, (2018). “Using Physical Activity Trackers in Arthritis Self‐Management: A Qualitative Study of Patient and Rehabilitation Professional Perspectives.” In Arthritis Care & Research, 31 pages. ACR‐18‐0318. DOI: 10.1002/acr.23780
• [3] Tim Bodyka Heng, Dr. Chris Shaw, Xin Tong, Dr. Diane Gromala (2018). “FitViz‐Ad: A Non‐Intrusive Reminder to Support and Encourage Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Physical Activity,” at IASP’s (International Association for the Study of Pain’s) Biennial Conference. Boston, 12–13 September 2018.
• [4] Weina Jin, Jianyu Fan, Diane Gromala, Philippe Pasquier (2018). “Automatic Prediction of Cybersickness for Virtual Reality Games,” presented at IEEE GEM conference, Galway, Ireland. 17 August 2018. Peer‐reviewed conference paper published in the Proceedings of the IEEE Games, Entertainment, and Media Conference, 2018. pp.1–9.
• [5] Xin Tong, Weina Jin, Servet Ulas and Diane Gromala (2018). “The Design and Evaluation of a Body‐Sensing Video Game to Foster Empathy towards Chronic Pain Patients,” Presented at Pervasive Health, Barcelona, Spain, 25 May 2018. Published in Proceedings of the 11th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, pp.244–250. New York, NY: ACM Press. ISBN: 978‐1‐4503‐6363‐1 DOI: 10.1145/3154862.3154869

• [1] Garrett, JB, Taverner, T., Gromala, D., Tao, G., Cordingley, E., Sun, C., (2018). “Virtual Reality Clinical Research: Promises and Challenges” in JMIR Serious Games, 6:4 (2018), pp.21–30. DOI:10.2196/10839.
• [2] Diane Gromala, Howard Rose, Frances Ayalasomayajula (2018). “Virtual Reality (VR) Health Care: Best Practices for Clinical Implementation,” in AI­Med (Artificial Intelligence in Medicine), vol 3: VR Health Care, pp.62–65. http://ai-med.io/virtual-reality-health-best-practices-clinical-implementation/
• [3] Diane Gromala, Xin Tong, Chris Shaw, Weina Jin. (2018). “Immersive Virtual Reality as a Non‐Pharmacological Analgesic for Pain Management: Pain Distraction and Pain Self‐Modulation,” in Virtual and Augmented Reality: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. pp.1176‐1199. DOI: 10.4018/978‐1‐5225‐5469‐1.ch056
• [4] Xin Tong, Kathryn Cruz, Weina Jin, Diane Gromala, Crystal Sun, Bernie Garrett and Tarnia Taverner (2018). “A Case Study: Chronic Pain Patients’ Preferences for Virtual Reality Games for Pain Distraction.” Presented at 10th International Conference, VAMR 2018, part of Human‐Computer Interaction International (HCII), Las Vegas, Nevada. 17 July 2018. Published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNCS), 10910, pp.3–11. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.
• [5] Frederico Machuca, Xin Tong, Noel Feng, Diane Gromala, Gabriela Aceves‐Sepulveda, Linda Li (2018). “Promoting Physical Activity and Movement for Arthritis Patients through A Virtual Reality Serious Game,” IASP’s (International Association for the Study of Pain’s) Biennial Conference. Boston, 15–16 September 2018.
• [6] Gromala, D; Rose, H; Ayalasomayajula, F. (2018). Virtual Reality (VR) Health Care: Best Practices for Clinical Implementation. AIMed (Artificial Intelligence in Medicine). 3: 62-65.
• [7] Janice Ng, Henry Lo, Xin Tong, Diane Gromala, Weina Jin (2018). “Farmooo, a virtual reality farm simulation game designed for cancer pediatric patients to distract their pain during chemotherapy treatment,” presented at the Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality Session at IS&T International Symposium on Electronic Imaging 2018 (EI 2018). 28 January 2018. Published in Electronic Imaging, The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality 2018, pp.432.1–432.4. Burlingame, CA: Society for Imaging Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2470‐1173.2018.03.ERVR‐432

• [1] Tong, X., Gupta, A., Gromala, D., Shaw, C. (2017). “Understanding Pokémon Go Players: An Online Survey Investigating WHY, When, and How They Play the Mobile Augmented-Reality Game,” HCII (Human-Computer Interaction International), July 2017.
• [2] Tong, X., Gupta, A., Gromala, D., Shaw, C., (2017). “Players’ Experience of an Augmented Reality Game, Pokémon Go: Inspirations and Implications for Designing Pervasive Health Gamified Applications.” Presented at HCII 2017, July, Toronto, Canada. Published in: Streitz N., Markopoulos P. (eds) Distributed, Ambient and Pervasive Interactions. DAPI 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol.10291. pp.675–683. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978‐3‐319‐58697‐7_50
• [3] Tong, X., Gupta, A., Lo, H., Choo, A., Gromala, D., Shaw, C., (2017). “Chasing Lovely Monsters in the Augmented Reality Era, Exploring Players’ Motivation and Play Patterns of Pokémon Go: Go, Gone or Go Away?” ACM Conference on Computer‐Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW), Portland, US, March 2017. Published in CHI PLAY Proceedings, pp.327–330.
• [4] Jin, W., Neustaedter, C., Gromala, D., Tong, X., (2017). “A Collaborative Visualization Tool to Support Doctors’ Shared Decision‐Making on Antibiotic Prescription,” presented at ACM CSCW (Conference on Computer‐Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing). Portland, OR, U.S.A., Mar. 2017. Published in ACM CSCW Proceedings, pp.211–214.
• [5] Fateme Rajabiyazdi, Charles Perin, Jo Vermeulen, Haley MacLeod, Diane Gromala, and Sheelagh Carpendale (2017). “Differences that matter: in‐clinic communication challenges.” Paper presented at Pervasive Health ‘17, Barcelona, Spain, 26 May 2017. Published in Proceedings of the 11th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare. New York, NY: ACM Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3154862.3154885
• [6] Linda C. Li, Lynne M. Feehan, Chris Shaw, Hui Xie, Eric C. Sayre, Antonio Aviña‐Zubeita, Navi Grewal, Anne F. Townsend, Diane Gromala, Greg Noonan and Catherine L. Backman. (2017). “A technology‐enabled Counselling program versus a delayed treatment control to support physical activity participation in people with inflammatory arthritis: study protocol for the OPAM‐IA randomized controlled trial,” in BMC Rheumatology 20171:6. (8 pages) https://doi.org/10.1186/s41927‐017‐0005‐4 (Springer Open Access journal).
• [7] Amelia W. Cole, Denise T. Quesnel, Serkan Pekçetin, Diane Gromala, Heather O’Brien, Alissa N. Antle, and Bernhard E. Riecke (2017). “Integrating Affective Responses and Gamification into Early Reading Acquisition Software Applications.” Presented at CHI PLAY’17, October 2017, Amsterdam. Published in CHI PLAY ’17 Extended Abstracts Extended Abstracts Publication of the Annual Symposium on Computer­Human Interaction in Play, pp.73–85. New York, NY: ACM Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3130859.3131433
• [8] Mark Nazemi, Maryam Mobini, Diane Gromala, Hin Hin Ko, and Julie Carlson (2017). “Sonic therapy for anxiety management in clinical settings.” Presented at Pervasive Health ‘17, Barcelona, Spain, 24 May 2017. Published in Proceedings of the 11th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare, pp.455‐459. New York, NY: ACM Press. ISBN: 978‐1‐4503‐6363‐1 DOI: 10.1145/3154862.3154892
• [9] Feng, C; Bartram, L; Gromala D. (2017). Beyond Data: Abstract Motionscapes as Affective Visualization. Leonardo, Journal of Arts, Sciences and Technology. 50(2): 205-206.
• [10] Tong, X., Gupta, A., Gromala, D., Shaw C., and Neustaedter, C., Choo, A. (2017). “Utilizing Gamification Approaches in Pervasive Health: How Can We Motivate Physical Activity Effectively?” in EAI Endorsed Transactions on Pervasive Health and Technology, Spain, 3:11, e3. (14 pages) http://dx.doi.org/10.4108/eai.18‐7‐2017.152897
• [11] Servet Ulas, Weina Jin, Xin Tong, Diane Gromala, and Chris Shaw. 2017. “Frustrating Interaction Design of AS IF, an Embodied Interaction Game for Perspective Taking Towards Physical Limitations.” In SpringerLink, pp.192–198. http://doi.org/10.1007/978‐3‐319‐58753‐0_30

• [1] Ng, J., Lo, H., Tong, X., Jin, W., Gromala, D., Strahlendorf, C., Ulas, S. (2017). “A Pilot Focus Group Study of Farmooo, A Virtual Reality Pain Distraction Game Designed for 14-to 18 -year-old Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy” presented at the Canadian Pain Society’s Annual Scientific Conference, Halifax, Canada. 24–25 May 2017. One of Five Best Posters selected by judges for a short talk & panel.
• [2] Amin, A., Tong, X., Gromala, D. (2017). “The Efficacy of Using Cardboard Mobile Virtual Reality for Chronic Pain Patients’ Pain Distraction in Clinical Settings” CPS (Canadian Pain Society’s) Annual Conference 2017.
• [3] Tong, X., Jin, W., Ulas, S., Gromala, D. (2017). “Evaluating AS IF, an Interactive Body-sensing Game to Foster Empathy Towards Chronic Pain Patients,” Canadian Pain Society Annual Conference 2017.
• [4] Amin, A., Tong, X., Gromala, D., Shaw, C. (2017). “Cardboard Mobile Virtual Reality as an Approach for Pain Distraction in Clinical Setting: Comparison with Oculus Rift, Exploration and Evaluation,” presented at ACM CHI’17 WIPs (Works in Progress), Colorado, 9 May 2017. Published in Proceedings of CHI’17, vol. 9740, pp.269–276.
• [5] Tong, X., Gromala, D. (2017). “Dynamic Difficulty Adaptation (DDA) in a Virtual Reality (VR) Game for Hand Exercise Based on Player’s’ Motivation and Performance” presented at ACM CHI ’17 (Computer-Human Interaction), WIP.
• [6] Diane Gromala (2016) (published online 19 January 2017). “Pain matters: outliers in new tribes and territories,” in Digital Creativity, 27:4, pp.288‐303, (Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Routledge). DOI:10.1080/14626268.2016.1250013.
• [7] Tong, X., Pekcetin, S., Gromala, D., Machuca, F., (2017). “Exploring Body Gestures as Natural User Interface for Flying in a Virtual Reality Game with Kinect,” Paper presented at The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality 2017 conference, San Francisco, January 2017. Published in Electronic Imaging, The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality 2017, 1 January 2017. Burlingame, CA: Society for Imaging Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2470‐1173.2017.3.ERVR‐101 http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/ist/ei/2017/00002017/00000003/art00011

• [1] X. Tong, D. Gromala, C. D. Shaw, and A. Choo (2016). “A Field Study: Evaluating Gamification Approaches for Promoting Physical Activity with Motivational Models of Behavior Changes,” in Human-Computer Interaction. Novel User Experiences, vol. 9733, M. Kurosu, Ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016, pp. 417–424.
• [2] Tong, X., Gupta, A., Gromala, D., Shaw C., and Neustaedter, C. (2016). “Utilizing Gamification Approaches in Pervasive Health: How Can We Motivate Physical Activity Effectively?” in EAI Endorsed Transactions on Pervasive Health and Technology. Nov. 2016.
• [3] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Shaw, C., Choo, A., (2016). “An Empirical Study: Evaluating the Gamification Approaches for Promoting Motivation in Behavior Changes” in the 18th International Conference on Human-computer Interaction (HCII 2016), July 18, Toronto Canada.

• [1] Gromala, D., Tong, X., Shaw, C., Jin, W. (2016). “Immersive Virtual Reality as a Non-pharmacological Analgesic for Pain Management: Pain Distraction and Pain Self-modulation” in Handbook of Research on Human-Computer Interfaces, Developments, and Applications, Chapter 19, IGI publishing, pp. 488-511. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0435-1.ch019
• [2] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Gupta, D. & Shaw, C. (2016). “Usability Comparisons of Head-Mounted vs. Stereoscopic Desktop Displays in a Virtual Reality Environment with Pain Patients,” in Proceedings of Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 22, vol. 220, 424 – 431, IOS Press. DOI:10.3233/978-1-61499-625-5-424
• [3] Jin, W., Gromala, D., Choo, A., Shaw, C. & and Squire, P. (2016). “A Virtual Reality Game for Chronic Pain Management: a Randomized, Controlled Clinical Study,” in Proceedings of Studies in Health Technology and Informatics: Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 22, vol. 220, 154–160, IOS Press. DOI:10.3233/978-1-61499-625-5-154
• [4] Garrett B, Taverner T, Masinde W, Gromala D, Shaw C, Negraeff M. (2014). “A rapid evidence assessment of immersive virtual reality as an adjunct therapy in acute pain management in clinical practice” in Clinical Journal of Pain. 2014 Dec; 30(12):1089-98. DOI: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000064. PubMed PMID: 24535053.
• [5] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Amin A., Choo A., (2016). “The Design of an Immersive Mobile Virtual Reality Serious Game in Cardboard Head-mounted Display for Pain Management” in the 5th EAI International Symposium on Pervasive Computing Paradigms for Mental Health (MindCare), Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS) 604, Springer. pp. 284–293.
• [6] Amin, A., Gromala, D., Shaw, C. (2016). “Immersion in Cardboard VR in Comparison to a Traditional Head-Mounted Display” In the 18th International Conference on Human-computer Interaction, (HCII 2016), July 18, Toronto, Canada.
• [7] Tong, X., Kiston, A., Salimi, M., Gromala, D., and Reicke, B., (2016). “Exploring Embodied Experience of Flying in a Virtual Reality Game with Kinect” in IEEE VR Mixed-Reality Art Workshop, South Carolina, Mar 2016. Publication + Presentation url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEWwYfomkYY.
• [8] Gromala, D., Tong, X., Shaw, C., Amin, A., Ulas, S., Ramsay, G. (2016). “Mobius Floe: an Immersive Virtual Reality Game for Pain Distraction” in SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 9392, San Francisco. http://www.imaging.org/ist/conferences/ei2016/C-ERVR.cfm in publication. [Accessed May 10 2016].
• [9] Jin, W., Ulas, S. Tong, X., Gromala, D., and Shaw C. (2016). “AS IF You Are Suffering in Silence An Interactive Installation as Empathy Tool for Chronic Pain,” ISEA2016, May, Hong Kong.
• [10] Jin, W., Ulas, S. Tong, X., (2016). “AS IF: A Game as an Empathy Tool for Experiencing the Activity Limitations of Chronic Pain Patients.” Peer-reviewed paper presented at the ACM CHI Conference May 7-12, San Jose, CA. Peer-reviewed paper published in ACM CHI’16 Extended Abstracts, pp.172-175, NYC: ACM (Association for Computing Machinery).
• [11] Tong, X., Jin, W., Gromala, D., and Pam, S. (2016). “Two Paradigms and Clinical Trials of Designing Virtual Reality as an Adjunctive Non-Pharmacological Intervention for Chronic Pain Patients: Pain Self-Management and Pain Distraction,” Canadian Pain Society (CPS) Annual Scientific Conference, 2016, May 23-25, Vancouver, Canada.
• [12] Jin, W., Ulas, S. Tong, X., Gromala, D., and Shaw C. (2016). “Chronic Pain: Gaining Understanding And Empathy Through An Interactive System,” Canadian Pain Society (CPS) Annual Scientific Conference, 2016, May 23-25, Vancouver, Canada.
• [13] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Jin, W., Squire, P., (2016). “Two Paradigms of Designing Virtual Reality for Chronic Pain Patients: Pain Self-Modulation vs. Pain Distraction.” International Association for the Study of Pain’s (IASP’s) 16th World Congress on Pain, Yokohama, Japan. September, 2016.
• [14] Jin, W., Ulas, S., Tong, X., Gromala, D., Shaw, C., (2016). “Seeing is Believing: an Embodied Empathy Game that Visualizes the Invisible Suffering of Chronic Pain.” International Association for the Study of Pain’s (IASP’s) 16th World Congress on Pain, Yokohama, Japan. September, 2016.
• [15] Jin, W., Choo, A., Gromala, D., Shaw, C., Amin, A., (2016). “A Virtual Reality Game for Chronic Pain Management: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Study.” PainWEEK, Las Vegas, NV, USA. September, 2016.
• [16] Jin, W., Machuca, F., Gromala, D., (2016). “Serious Game for Serious Disease: Diminishing Stigma of Depression via Game Experience.” PainWEEK, Las Vegas, NV, USA. September, 2016.
• [17] Jin, W., Tong, X., Ulaş, S., Machuca, F., Gromala, D., Shaw, C., (2016). “Chronic pain: gaining understanding and empathy through an interactive system.” PainWEEK, Las Vegas, NV, USA. September, 2016.
• [18] Tong, X.,  Gromala, D., Amin, A., Squire, P., (2016). “Virtual Reality For Chronic Pain Management: Pain Self-Modulation through Biofeedback and Cognitive Pain Distraction.” PainWEEK, Las Vegas, NV, USA. September, 2016.
• [19] Amin, A., Gromala, D., (2016). “Comparison of Immersion in Cardboard VR and Oculus Rift for Playing a Pain Management Game.” PainWEEK, Las Vegas, NV, USA. September, 2016.
• [20] Ashfaq, A; Gromala, Shaw, D. (2016). Immersion in Cardboard VR in Comparison to a Traditional Head- Mounted Display. Lackey S, Shumaker R. Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: Selections from the 8th International Conference on HCI in Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality, VAMR 2016. (9740): 267-276.

• [1] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Choo, A., Salimi, M., Lee, J., (2015). “ ‘Weather’ Wearable System: a Design Exploration to Facilitate the Collaboration and Communication with Chronic Pain Patients,” peer-reviewed paper presented at the Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: Access to Learning, Health and Well-Being section of HCI International. Peer-reviewed paper published in Proceedings of HCI International, vol. 9177, 383–393.
• [2] Salimi, M., Gromala, D., Tong, X., (2015). “Grene Epiphytes, an Immersive BioArtificial-Life Artwork” Peer-reviewed talk presented at ISEA 2015. Published in the Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA) 2015. ISSN: 2451-8611 ISBN: 978-1-910172-00-1.
• [3] Tong X., Gromala, D., Bartram L., Rajabiyazdi F., Carpendale S. (2015). “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Three Physical Activity Visualizations – How People Perform vs. Perceive” Peer-reviewed paper presented at the IEEE VIS Workshop: vis4me, Chicago, 25 October 2015. Peer-reviewed paper: http://www.vis4me.com/personalvis15/papers/tong.pdf
• [4] Jin W., Gromala D., & Tong X., (2015). “A Serious Game for Serious Disease: Diminishing Stigma of Depression via Game Experience,” Peer-reviewed poster presented at the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, Games, Entertainment, Media Conference, Toronto, October, 2015.
• [5] Xin Tong, Gromala, D., Shaw C., Jin W., (2015). “Encouraging Physical Activity with a Game-based Mobile Application: FitPet” Peer-reviewed paper delivered at IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, Games, Entertainment, Media Conference, Toronto, October, 2015.
• [6] G Macdonald G Leese J. Backman C. Davis A Townsend AF Avina-Zubieta AJ Gromala D Li LC. (2015). Integrating Wearable Physical Activity Monitoring Tools into Rehabilitation Practice for Patients with Arthritis: TheHealthcare Professional Perspective. Arthritis & Rheumatology. 67(S10): 2883-2884.
• [7] Jenny Leese Bao Chau Tran Catherine Backman Anne F Townsend Aileen Davis Allyson Jones Diane Gromala Antonio J Avina-zubieta Linda Li. (2015). A Qualitative Study of Barriers and Facilitators to Arthritis Patients Use of Physical Activity Monitoring Tools. Arthritis & Rheumatology. 67(S10): 2879-2880.

• [1] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Choo, A., Amin, A., Shaw, C., (2015).  
“The Virtual Meditative Walk: an Immersive Virtual Environment for Pain Self-modulation through Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Meditation,” peer-reviewed paper presented at the Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality section of HCI International. Peer-reviewed paper published in Proceedings of HCI International (HCII), Vol. 9179, 388-397.
• [2] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Choo, A. (2015). “Experience and Practice: Body Image and Body Schema for Embodied Cognition in Human Computer Interaction Design” Peer-reviewed paper presented at Design Principles and Practices, March, Chicago. Peer-reviewed paper published: http://kc.cgpub.net/assets/downloads/design/G15_Program_Final_Web_Version-1.pdf
• [3] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Williamson, O., Shaw C., and Iscen O. E., (2015). “A Theoretical Review and Interaction Design Space of Body Image and Body Schema (BIBS) for Embodied Cognition in Virtual Reality,” Peer-reviewed paper presented at Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality: SPIE VR Conference, February 2015. San Francisco. Peer-reviewed paper published in the Proceedings of SPIE: the International Society for Optical Engineering 9392, The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality 2015, 93920D, San Francisco. DOI:10.1117/12.2083441. (11 pages)
• [4] Gromala, D., Tong, X., Choo, A., Shaw, C. (2015). “The Virtual Meditative Walk: Virtual Reality Therapy for Chronic Pain Management.” Peer-reviewed paper presented at the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) CHI 2015, April 18-24, Seoul, Korea. CHI ’15. Peer-reviewed paper published in the ACM’s (Association for Computing Machinery) CHI ’15 Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp.521–524. New York, NY: ACM Press. DOI: 10.1145/2702123.2702344.
• [5] Xin Tong, Gromala, D., (2015). “Experience and Practice: Body Image and Body Schema for Embodied Cognition in Human Computer Interaction Design” Peer-reviewed paper delivered at Design Principles & Practices Conference, March, 2015, Chicago.

• [1] Feng, C., Bartram, L., Gromala, D. (2014). “Beyond Data: Abstract Motionscapes as Affective Visualization” Peer-reviewed paper presented at the IEEE VIS 2014 Arts Program, VISAP’14: Art+Interpretation, Paris, France, November 12, 2014. Peer-reviewed paper published in Leonardo, “the leading journal for readers interested in the application of contemporary science and technology to the art.” pp. 75-84.
• [2] Tong, X., Gromala, D., Shaw, C., Clarke P. (2014). “Transformation between Electronic Arts and Chronic Pain: Long-term Body Activity Data Visualization and Pain Animation Expression,” presented at the Conference of Electronic Visualization Arts (EVA), July 8, 2014. London. Peer-reviewed paper published in the Proceedings of the Conference on Electronic Visualization Arts. London: BCS Chartered Institute for IT, in the series: Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC) Electronic Visualisation and the Arts (EVA 2014), pp.75-81.
• [3] Karamnejad, M., Gromala, D., Choo, A., Shaw, C. and Tong, X. (2014). “Orientation of Attention in Visual Feedbacks During Neurofeedback Relaxation.” Peer-reviewed paper presented at the International Conference on Physiological Computing Systems, January 2014, Lisbon. Peer-reviewed paper published in SciTePress, pp. 196–203.
• [4] Tong, X., Gromala, D., & Shaw, C. (2014). “Body Activity Data Visualization and Pain Animation Expression for Chronic Pain Patients,” Peer-reviewed poster presented at the Expressive Computational Aesthetics Conference 2014, co-located with ACM SIGGRAPH, August 2014, Vancouver, Canada.
• [5] Gromala, D., Tong, X., & Choo, A. (2014). “A Wearable Pain ‘Weather’ System,” NCE-GRAND Annual Conference, Ottawa Canada, May 14-15, 2014.
• [6] Li LC, Adam PM, Townsend AF, Lacaille D, Yousefi C, Stacey D, Gromala D, Shaw CD, Tugwell P, Backman CL. (2013). “Usability testing of ANSWER: a web-based methotrexate decision aid for patients with rheumatoid arthritis,” in BMC Medical Information Decision Making. 2013 Dec 1;13:131. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6947-13-131. PubMed PMID: 24289731. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4220621.

• [1] Nazemi, M., Gromala, D., Mobini, M., Mamisao, J., (2014). “Improving the Mental State of Patients in Clinical Settings,” in Pervasive Computing Paradigms for Mental Health (Chapter 7). Springer, pp. 58–64.
• [2] Garrett B., Taverner T., Masinde W., Gromala D., Shaw C., Negraeff M. (2014). “A Rapid Evidence Assessment of Immersive Virtual Reality as an Adjunct Therapy in Acute Pain Management in Clinical Practice,” Clinical Journal of Pain (Feb 2014). pp.1089-98.
• [3] Nazemi, M., Gromala, D., Karamnejad, M. (2014). “Virtual Reality as Analgesia: An alternative approach for managing chronic pain,” in Proceedings of IGI journal Creative Interfaces and Computer Graphics, (IJCICG), vol. 5, issue 2, pp.75–86.
• [4] Choo, A., Tong, X., Gromala, D. and Hollander, A. (2014). “A Virtual Reality and Mobius Floe: Cognitive Distraction as Non-Pharmacological Analgesic for Pain Management.” Peer-reviewed paper presented at Games for Health Europe, October 27–28, 2014. Utrecht, the Netherlands. Peer-reviewed paper published in the Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Gaming and Playful Interaction in Health Care, NYC: Springer, pp. 8–12.
• [5] Nazemi, M., Gromala, D., Mobini, M., Tong, X. (2014). “A user centered design approach for reducing anxiety in adolescents with scoliosis undergoing and recovering from spinal fusion surgery.” NCE-GRAND Annual Conference, May 14–15, 2014, Ottawa, Canada.
• [6] Namezi, M., and Gromala, D. (2014). “VR Therapy: Management of chronic pain using virtual mindfulness training,” Presented at CHI ’15. Peer-reviewed paper published in the CHI EA ’15 Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 625–637.