Designing Virtual Natural Environments for Older Adults : Think-Aloud Study
(2023) In JMIR Human Factors 10.- Abstract
Background: Spending time in natural environments is beneficial for human health, but many older adults have limited or no access to natural environments. Virtual reality technology may be a means to facilitate nature experiences, and so, there is a need for knowledge on how to design virtual restorative natural environments for older adults. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify, implement, and test older adults’ preferences and ideas regarding virtual natural environments. Methods: A total of 14 older adults (mean age 75, SD 5.9 years) participated in an iterative process to design such an environment. We used think-aloud protocols and qualitative content analysis and established questionnaires that targeted usability,... (More)
Background: Spending time in natural environments is beneficial for human health, but many older adults have limited or no access to natural environments. Virtual reality technology may be a means to facilitate nature experiences, and so, there is a need for knowledge on how to design virtual restorative natural environments for older adults. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify, implement, and test older adults’ preferences and ideas regarding virtual natural environments. Methods: A total of 14 older adults (mean age 75, SD 5.9 years) participated in an iterative process to design such an environment. We used think-aloud protocols and qualitative content analysis and established questionnaires that targeted usability, affective aspects, and side effects. These data guided the design decisions for incremental implementations of a prototype. Results: The participants’ preferences included trueness to reality in terms of rendition and behavior; traces of human activity and natural processes that trigger the imagination and provide believability; the ability to roam, explore, and interact with the environment; and a familiar, relatable environment that evokes memories. The iterative design process resulted in a prototype featuring many of the participants’ ideas and preferences, including a seated locomotion technique, animals, a boat ride, the discovery of a boat wreck, and apple picking. The questionnaire results indicated high perceived usability, interest, and enjoyment; low pressure and tension; moderate value and usefulness; and negligible side effects. Conclusions: We suggested 3 principles for virtual natural environments for older adults: realness, interactivity, and relatedness. Virtual natural environments should also provide a diversity of content and activities to accommodate the heterogeneity in older adults’ preferences. These results can contribute to a framework for designing virtual natural environments for older adults. However, these findings need to be tested and potentially revised in future studies.
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- author
- Lundstedt, Rikard LU ; Persson, Johanna LU ; Håkansson, Carita LU ; Frennert, Susanne LU and Wallergård, Mattias LU
- organization
-
- Metalund
- Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology
- Biomedical Engineering (M.Sc.Eng.)
- Environmental health and occupational health (research group)
- Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University
- LTH Profile Area: Engineering Health
- Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (master)
- eSSENCE: The e-Science Collaboration
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- older adults, qualitative method, real-time 3D graphics, user-centered design, virtual natural environments
- in
- JMIR Human Factors
- volume
- 10
- article number
- e40932
- publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:37027206
- scopus:85159903628
- ISSN
- 2292-9495
- DOI
- 10.2196/40932
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a5b9fb9d-7585-4724-9f4d-1629e15599ff
- date added to LUP
- 2023-09-18 11:18:50
- date last changed
- 2024-04-19 01:11:43
@article{a5b9fb9d-7585-4724-9f4d-1629e15599ff, abstract = {{<p>Background: Spending time in natural environments is beneficial for human health, but many older adults have limited or no access to natural environments. Virtual reality technology may be a means to facilitate nature experiences, and so, there is a need for knowledge on how to design virtual restorative natural environments for older adults. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify, implement, and test older adults’ preferences and ideas regarding virtual natural environments. Methods: A total of 14 older adults (mean age 75, SD 5.9 years) participated in an iterative process to design such an environment. We used think-aloud protocols and qualitative content analysis and established questionnaires that targeted usability, affective aspects, and side effects. These data guided the design decisions for incremental implementations of a prototype. Results: The participants’ preferences included trueness to reality in terms of rendition and behavior; traces of human activity and natural processes that trigger the imagination and provide believability; the ability to roam, explore, and interact with the environment; and a familiar, relatable environment that evokes memories. The iterative design process resulted in a prototype featuring many of the participants’ ideas and preferences, including a seated locomotion technique, animals, a boat ride, the discovery of a boat wreck, and apple picking. The questionnaire results indicated high perceived usability, interest, and enjoyment; low pressure and tension; moderate value and usefulness; and negligible side effects. Conclusions: We suggested 3 principles for virtual natural environments for older adults: realness, interactivity, and relatedness. Virtual natural environments should also provide a diversity of content and activities to accommodate the heterogeneity in older adults’ preferences. These results can contribute to a framework for designing virtual natural environments for older adults. However, these findings need to be tested and potentially revised in future studies.</p>}}, author = {{Lundstedt, Rikard and Persson, Johanna and Håkansson, Carita and Frennert, Susanne and Wallergård, Mattias}}, issn = {{2292-9495}}, keywords = {{older adults; qualitative method; real-time 3D graphics; user-centered design; virtual natural environments}}, language = {{eng}}, publisher = {{JMIR Publications Inc.}}, series = {{JMIR Human Factors}}, title = {{Designing Virtual Natural Environments for Older Adults : Think-Aloud Study}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/40932}}, doi = {{10.2196/40932}}, volume = {{10}}, year = {{2023}}, }