Exploring the potential impact of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) on older adults' wellbeing

Babu Manoharan, Sangeetha Neeraja and Holland, Carol and Tsekleves, Emmanuel (2024) Exploring the potential impact of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) on older adults' wellbeing. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

With increased longevity, some older adults, as they get frailer and older, are likely to face mobility issues and other health challenges, which might limit their out-of-home activities. Immersive VR simulates an alternate 3-dimensional virtual environment, which mirrors the real environment in many ways. The environments where older adults age are vital for their wellbeing. Therefore, the theme of this PhD research was to explore the potential impact of immersive VR on the wellbeing of older adults living in their own homes and supported care environments with impairments connected to ageing. In this context, immersive VR was conceived as a new environment. The studies examined how older adults perceived and interacted with the VR environment and the implications and impact it could have on their wellbeing using the Person-Environment (P-E) lens of environmental gerontology and allied concepts. The corpus of this research is divided into four studies. Firstly, a realist review of the literature examined what type of VR intervention works for whom, in what particular context and how that could improve older adults’ wellbeing. Secondly, a mixed method study using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) scale and interviews identified and examined factors and themes that could impact older adults' attitudes towards technology and, consequently, their wellbeing. Thirdly, a qualitative study using interviews identified and examined the themes that could impact older adults' attitudes towards immersive VR and, consequently, their wellbeing. Fourthly, the feasibility of immersive VR as an appropriate intervention for improving the wellbeing of older adults at home was examined by identifying facilitators and barriers to support the design of a larger future evaluation. The exploration using the P-E lens and allied concepts found that VR has a clear potential to be a new environment for ageing, contributing towards older adults’ wellbeing.