Loneliness is widespread in Australia and older people are affected the most, with a third of people living in seniors’ housing feeling socially isolated.
But innovative technology may be one of the keys to reversing this trend.
Yvonne Miller, a professor of design psychology at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, who is researching how activities such as virtual and augmented reality can help with the social and emotional enrichment of people living in aged care homes, says the technology has “a lot of potential and opportunities”.
“The reality is that once people enter an aged care home, it can be very difficult for many people to get out,” Prof Miller said.
As part of the study, VR headsets and software were used to help residents, who typically have mobility issues, virtually leave the confines of their aged care home and take part in activities such as a trip to Paris, an African safari or swimming with dolphins.
Evonne Miller from the QUT Design Lab says virtual reality has the potential to improve the social wellbeing of people living in aged care homes. (ABC News: Melanie Vujkovic)
“Virtual reality headsets are relatively cheap now, maybe around $500, and when integrated into leisure programming within aged care facilities, alongside bingo, aerobics, yoga, swimming, you can really create virtual reality experiences that transport people somewhere else,” she says.
But Prof Miller says introducing the technology into elderly care facilities is not without challenges.
“One of the challenges we had was that a lot of aged care facilities aren’t designed with the future in mind, so when we tried to use Chromecast in the facilities, including accessing Wi-Fi, we couldn’t.”
Overcoming limitations
That’s a challenge Meanjin/Brisbane resident Che Turner is hoping to overcome with his new social enterprise, which uses immersive reality to transport participants to exotic locations such as central Australia and the French Alps from the comfort of an air-conditioned van.
Turner was inspired by a similar installation he saw while working in the UK’s elderly care sector several years ago.
He has found that a virtual train trip, in which participants sit at tables that mimic the inside of a train car and watch the scenery scroll by on a big-screen TV, has had a positive effect on residents.
“Expectations are rising [for participants]So just like anyone who still has the ability to travel, their brain experiences that endorphin rush of, ‘Oh, I’m going on vacation and I’m going to do something fun.’ That was one of the things I really noticed and it was a topic of conversation throughout the nursing home.”
He said he had long wanted to try something similar here, but an epiphany came when he was thinking about the ongoing success of a nonprofit that provides on-site laundry and shower services to homeless people.
“When I was working for another aged care provider previously, I worked next door to their offices in Brisbane and I used to walk past them every day on my lunch break and think, ‘what a great idea’.
“Then I put the two together and thought: ‘If we can do this with a washing machine, why not provide a service with a van that travels by train? Why not create a vehicle that can get people around even if they have limited mobility?'”
Choi Turner and partner Kim Chatterjee’s social enterprise uses immersive reality to take participants on an exotic virtual train journey. (Courtesy of Choi Turner)
Get your project off the ground
Turner says it’s one thing to come up with the idea to transfer the concept of a virtual train journey into a purpose-built van, but another to make it an immersive reality.
He knew that some care homes were already offering train experiences on a limited basis.
“The experience of riding the train while in a nursing home [shown on] There’s only one TV, so it feels like you’re just looking out a window. One of the challenges was, ‘How can we make it more immersive?'”
The process involved modifying the van’s interior to resemble a train car, installing two 50-inch monitors on each side to mimic windows, and installing five computers with custom-written software to seamlessly play footage between the screens.
Footage of the journey, which includes views of the English countryside and the geese of central Australia, was submitted by members of an online rail forum.
“We welcome our guests on board, seat them, install coffee makers on board and serve high tea, so when they sit down at their table they’ll have a full first-class dining experience with white tablecloths and silverware.”
“We usually start the conversation with the question, ‘When was the last time you went on holiday?’ This is a real conversation starter that leads to conversations about the different train journeys participants have taken.”
The service was first introduced at a Brisbane aged care facility late last month and Mr Turner says he has been overwhelmed by the positive response.
“This is a passion project and I work Monday to Friday so I can only do it on weekends at the moment, but the response has been incredible. Most of the comments are that people didn’t expect this and didn’t think it was possible.”
“At the end of the day, it’s just a van with a few TVs in it, and it’s incredible that it can inspire so much joy, happiness and awe.”
ABC Daily in your inbox
Subscribe to our newsletter for the best of ABC Everyday every week
Posted on March 14, 2024 Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 8:45 PM, Updated on March 14, 2024 Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 9:44 PM