Supporting Optimal Aging through the Innovative Use of Virtual Reality Technology

Abstract

Although virtual reality (VR) technology has been implemented as a tool to address the health issues of older adults, its applicability to social connectedness is underrepresented in the literature, and less is known about its efficacy in this area in contributing to overall wellness and well-being in later life. Expanding the VR possibilities beyond traditional entertainment purposes holds considerable potential for the older adult market. Technological tools have been employed in the elder health care field for many years, and cutting-edge developments such as virtual and augmented reality have begun to be used to facilitate optimal wellness in aging. Such technological advances have the potential to significantly impact one of the most important issues that older people face: social isolation and loneliness. This paper will serve as an introductory exploration of what is currently known about the use of virtual reality technology with an older cohort.

Does User Generated Content Characterize Millennials’ Generation Behavior? Discussing the Relation between SNS and Open Innovation

“…LO is elicited by the unlimited use of new technologies that create virtual realities as the main cause. This finding is congruent with the results previously reported by Morahan-Martin [52], although it has not yet been linked to the millennial generation as its characteristic feature [53].…”

An Immersive Virtual Reality Platform for Assessing Spatial Navigation Memory in Predementia Screening: Feasibility and Usability Study

“…Several factors often impact user engagement with VR including presence, gamified designs [11,25], and natural body interactions [26,27]. Motion sickness, despite recent improvements in VR technology, still has a negative impact on user engagement [12,28,29]. Furthermore, older adults have additional requirements that need to be considered in designing the system: most commercially available HMDs are heavy [30,31], have nonintuitive controllers [32,33], can cause stress or hesitation [33], and large proportion of VR content not specifically designed for this cohort [32,33], all of which negatively influence experiences and engagement of older adult users with the system.…”

Potential of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Technologies to Promote Wellbeing in Older Adults

“…Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies have been rapidly employed in a range of contexts, including gaming, navigation, medicine, education, and design [9,10]. Cipresso et al [11] collected all the articles about VR and AR in the Web of Science Core Collection scientific database.…”

“…AR combines virtual information with information on the physical environment on a real-time basis [9,13]. VR technology delivers computer-generated simulations of 3D virtual environments that users experience by wearing a VR headset [10]. The main difference between the two is that AR integrates the virtual and real worlds, while VR offers complete immersion into a simulated environment and is entirely digitized.…”

“…Many designers and researchers realize that AR and VR technologies have the potential for improving older adults' social relationships, wellbeing, and quality of care and facilitating their independence [10,14,15]. For successful aging and wellbeing, a variety of factors should act together, such as avoiding disability or disease, maintaining physical and cognitive functions to be healthy, retaining intimate human relationships, participating in diverse activities actively, and maintaining interest in social activities [16].…”