The Therapy Zone Platform has the main objective to connect people who need help to those who can help them in a simple, safe, practical, and freeway. It can contribute as a prophylaxis, and in the active combat, to several disorders and psychological disorders. In order to transform the quarantine into a more positive experience, the platform has a dynamic and accessible timeline to facilitate the exchange of ideas between users of the network. It also has meditation sessions and lectures, which contribute to reducing stress and enhancing psychological well-being. In addition to collaboration among users, the Therapy Zone guarantees 24-hour monitoring, with the possibility of banning in the event of any act of discrimination and hostility among members. It is important to note that the platform will conduct regular surveys, in the form of a questionnaire, seeking to analyze in more detail the symptoms and changes caused during periods of social abnormalities, thus corroborating, for future research that addresses the theme, and may even be redirected to astronauts, enabling the reduction of psychological damage during space travel.
We, from the Southern Crux team, opted for The Isolation Solution Challenge because we believed that we could develop a viable and feasible solution, within what was proposed and provided by Space Apps, considering the determined term. Also, we knew of the biggest problems faced as a result of social isolation, thus facilitating the creative process and the development of the project as a whole. For the initiation of the project, we selected the main difficulties faced during the quarantine period, using documents available by NASA, through the Human Research Program, and we tried to gather and solve the main one, through the creation of a simple and accessible platform. To make the idea of the platform as functional as possible, we took inspiration from NASA astronaut Anne McClain and one of her videos on skills that help with social isolation. For the improvement of the project, it was crucial to read scientific articles. Thus, it was possible to conclude that many studies involving social isolation and mental health are not finalized, or are inconclusive, even though it has been a topic addressed for several years by the leading space agencies. Psychology Department of Houston have been developing researches in this area, and warning the scientific community upon the absence on analysis related to this theme, as in rummage of Caracterization of Psychologycal Risk Overlap with Physical Health and Associated Performance in Isolated, Confined, Extreme (ICE) Environments, nevertheless, the inquiry finale prompt haven't been reached up to now, therefore, there is no concrete results of the project. In this way, we adapted the Therapy Zone platform to capture data, providing a more significant number of resources for the scientific community, and enabling a possible continuation of psychic research.
The tools Canvas, Photoshop and PowerPoint were essential to further the nurture of the prototype and the concretization of the idea mentalized by the team. Besides, platforms as Discord, that were underlying to update the information of the group.
An astronaut’s tips for living in space – or anywhere: adapted from a Twitter thread by astronaut Anne McClain. [S. l.]: Kelli Mars, March 22 of 2020. Available in: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/an-astronaut-s-tips-for-living-in-space-or-anywhere. Acess in: May 30 of 2020.
ABADIE, Laurie J.; LLOYD, Charles W.; SHELHAMER, Mark J. The human body in space. [S. l.]: Jason Perez, March 30 of 2016. Available in: https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/bodyinspace. Acess in: May 30 of 2020.
CONNABOY, Christopher; LAUGHLIN, Mitzi; SIMPSON, Richard. Characterization of psychological risk, overlap with physical health, and associated performance in isolated, confined, extreme (ICE) environments. Human research — behavior and performance, [s. l.], 2015. Available in: https://taskbook.nasaprs.com/tbp/index.cfm?action=public_query_taskbook_content&TASKID=12495. Acess in: May 30 of 2020.