A Western Australian project is using virtual reality (VR) in residential aged care for residents to engage with memories and familiar surroundings in the digital space.
Edith Cowan University has partnered with Western Australia creative artists to develop visual content on areas where residents from a residential care home grew up and lived, incorporating their favourite activities and musical interests.
Local musicians and artists developed a set of immersive VR experiences featuring these familiar places, which was then presented to residents in the aged care facilities.
The use of local content in the VR simulation had the potential to prompt memories and generate new conversations with aged care residents. In addition, the experience has provided residents and carers with joy, said Edith Cowan University researcher Professor Davina Porock.
“During the VR experience, the residents felt like they were really at that location, and that they could interact with what they were seeing – the technology captured their imaginations,” she said.
The bespoke content allowed participants the opportunity to reconnect with their personal histories in meaningful ways, while also offering participants the novelty of using new technology.
Technology could offer residents a viable alternative to outdoor excursions for those with mobility issues or at times when older people were unable to leave residential care, said Professor Porock.
“Because of their age, frailty or disability, some seniors are basically housebound. VR offers a viable option for enriching the quality of life for older adults in residential care. VR offers a little bit of escapism that is different from watching television.”
It could also prompt more engagement between generations, as residents could share their stories and experiences from the local places shown in the simulation to others, she said.
Future use of VR could consider different modes of video delivery, as the bulky headsets could be problematic for older users, researchers acknowledged.
