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COVID-19 chatbots are widely used to screen for symptoms and disseminate information about the virus, yet little is known about the population subgroups that interact with this technology and the specific features that are used. An analysis of 1,000,740 patients invited to use a COVID-19 chatbot, 69,451 (6.94%) of which agreed to participate, shows differences in chatbot feature use by gender, race, and age. These results can inform future public health COVID-19 symptom screening and information dissemination strategies.

Background Patients with cancer commonly experience acute and/or chronic moderate to severe pain related to disease, treatment, or both. While pain management strategies typically focus on drug therapies, non-pharmacological interventions may prove beneficial without risk of significant clinical side effects or contraindications. One novel strategy, virtual reality, has been shown to improve pain control in addition to usual pharmacological interventions. Methods This is a prospective, two-armed, single center randomized controlled study of a virtual reality intervention in 128 hospitalized subjects with cancer reporting pain rated at least 4/10 compared to an active control intervention, two-dimensional guided imagery. The primary outcome is change in self-reported pain score. Secondary end points include changes in self-reported distress, quality of life, and satisfaction with pain management. We will also explore patient preferences for distraction therapy content and themes through quantitative analysis of survey data, semi-structured interviews, and a collaging exercise. Conclusion This randomized controlled study aims to provide empiric data to support application and expansion of novel technologies such as virtual reality to augment usual pharmacological pain management strategies in hospitalized patients with cancer.

The HFES Diversity Committee is entering its third year following many years existing as a task force. We have built a series of annual meeting content over the past years, with panels introducing the task force and then the committee; last year, we shifted focus to highlight examples of HFE research advancing diversity, inclusion and social justice. We continue to build off of previous years’ sessions – last year concluded with several questions seeking practical, concrete advice and suggestions to advance DISJ through HFE research and within the society. Therefore, this year we present an alternative format session that will function as a group of mini-workshops: two focused on research, one on broadening participation in HFE and one of inclusive excellence within HFE training and education. Session participants will develop “how to” knowledge and leave with a network of likeminded peers, colleagues and potential collaborators.