The Factors Affecting Older Adults’ Intention toward Ongoing Participation in Virtual Reality Leisure Activities

Abstract

Due to the aging of organs, older adults may have limited physical strength for participating in outdoor activities. Therefore, indoor activities offer an alternative for maintaining the health of older adults. Following advances in technology, individuals can use virtual reality to exercise in their homes and are no longer subject to the constraints of the outdoor environment or weather conditions. In addition, these activities are easier to participate in when compared to real-world leisure activities. The present research included 294 older adults as its research subjects. They were given firsthand experience of Wii games for 10 weeks, in order to examine the ongoing participation intention of older adults following an experience with virtual reality leisure activities. The study found that experience attributes, experience consequences, and experience values were important factors in determining ongoing participation intention and can effectively predict ongoing participation intention. Four experience attributes—ease of use, usefulness, safety and flexibility, and fun—significantly influenced the experience value and experience consequences of older adults’ participants. Experience values also influenced ongoing participation intention.

Enjoyment and Intensity of Physical Activity in Immersive Virtual Reality Performed on Innovative Training Devices in Compliance with Recommendations for Health

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Video Game’s design Implications to promote moderate activity in seniors

“…Physical activity in combination with serious video games is a feasible and effective strategy to improve the upper and lower body, flexibility, balance and agility in older adults. As in [42], our main contribution is the insertion of new technologies but in Mexican adult environments, with cultural and customized activities, may boost the engagement with exercise; however we contribute further by also provide to additional health information to therapists or medical doctors and engaging the older adult with moderate activity, activity that impacts directly in their well-being.…”

A Scoping Review of Augmented/Virtual Reality Health and Wellbeing Interventions for Older Adults: Redefining Immersive Virtual Reality

“…dos Santos Mendes et al (2012) Virtual Reality "A computer-based technology providing a multisensorial environment with which the user can interact." Yeh et al (2019) VR "a computer-generated reality that allows users to enter a virtual world through a computer interface" cybersickness with older adults with schizophrenia (Chan et al, 2010), another indicated that most of their PTSD patients reported no negative effects after exposure to a virtual environment displayed in an HMD. Despite this, research still maintains that older adults are a high-risk group for cybersickness (Matas et al, 2015).…”