Towards a Social VR-based Exergame for Elderly Users: An Exploratory Study of Acceptance, Experiences and Design Principles

Shah, Syed Hammad Hussain; Hameed, Ibrahim A.; Karlsen, Anniken; Solberg, Mads

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-05939-1_34

Cited by 10 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While the players found the experience enjoyable and captivating, even with minimal social interaction through embodied avatars, this study did not investigate their motivation as a consequence of repeated use, and the results may have been confounded by the novelty effect. Furthermore, an exploratory study (Shah et al 2022) was conducted recently to evaluate the general discomfort and experience of elderly individuals pertaining to their interaction with immersive virtual world and communication with each other in social VR. The results were promising in terms of usability, general experience and interest in social VR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A social VR-based collaborative exergame for rehabilitation: codesign, development and user study

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Immersive virtual reality (VR)-based exercise video games (exergames) are increasingly being employed as a supportive intervention in rehabilitation programs to promote engagement in physical activity, especially for elderly users. A multifaceted and iterative codesign process is essential to develop sustainable exergaming solutions. The social aspect is considered one of the key motivating factors in exergames; however, research on the social aspect of VR exergames has been limited. Previous studies have relied on competitiveness in exergames, but research has shown that competition can lead to adverse effects on users. With the aim of motivating elderly individuals to participate in physical exercise and improving social connectedness during rehabilitation, this work presents a social VR-based collaborative exergame codesigned with elderly participants and therapists. This exergame stimulates full-body exercise and supports social collaboration among users through a collaborative game task. Furthermore, this article presents a user study based on a mixed-methods approach to gather user feedback on exergame design and the effect of social collaboration versus playing alone in a VR exergame in terms of physical exertion and motivation. This study spanned five weeks (99 exergaming sessions) with 14 elderly participants divided into two groups, one playing collaboratively and the other playing individually. Between-group comparisons were performed at baseline (first week) and in the fourth week, and within-group comparisons were performed in the fifth week, when the participants played the exergame in counterbalanced order. In contrast to the first week, the participants exergaming collaboratively in the fourth week reported significantly higher intrinsic motivation on all subscales (enjoyment: p < 0.02, effort: p < 0.002, usefulness: p < 0.01) and physical exertion (p < 0.001) than those playing alone. Thereafter, exergaming in counterbalanced order during the fifth week resulted in significant differences (medium to large effect size) within groups. The participants found the social VR gameplay enjoyable and agreed that collaboration played a vital role in their motivation. They reported various health benefits, a minimal increase in symptoms of simulator sickness, and excellent usability scores (83.75±13.3). In this work, we also identify various key design principles to support healthcare professionals, researchers and industrial experts in developing ergonomic and sustainable VR-based exergames for senior citizens.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A social VR-based collaborative exergame for rehabilitation: codesign, development and user study

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

A Systematic Literature Review of Extended Reality Exercise Games for the Elderly

Sundstedt

et al. 2023

Communications in Computer and Information Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Enhancing Health Literacy Through Sustainable Digital Healthcare Solutions: System Development and Usage Perspectives

Goienetxea,

Karlsen,

Larsen

et al. 2024

Towards Sustainable Good Health and Well-Being

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This chapter summarises findings from an empirical study investigating how digital healthcare solutions should be developed to satisfy individual demands for understanding and managing healthcare information and activities. Despite the quick development of new digital healthcare services to accomplish service efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and at the same time supporting the achievement of a wide range of sustainable development goals, some users perceive challenges due to different age-related, physical, and cognitive starting points. The chapter offers a broad view of the development of digital healthcare solutions and considers literature and the perspectives of technologists, caregivers, and users through a qualitative approach using interviews and autoethnography. A main finding is that the development of digital healthcare solutions that enhance health literacy needs a comprehensive strategy, in which users, healthcare providers, family members, and other stakeholders should participate.

show abstract

Towards a Social VR-based Exergame for Elderly Users: An Exploratory Study of Acceptance, Experiences and Design Principles

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

A social VR-based collaborative exergame for rehabilitation: codesign, development and user study

A social VR-based collaborative exergame for rehabilitation: codesign, development and user study

A Systematic Literature Review of Extended Reality Exercise Games for the Elderly

Enhancing Health Literacy Through Sustainable Digital Healthcare Solutions: System Development and Usage Perspectives

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About