Centre for Health Technology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
Centre for Health Technology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.
BMJ Open. 2023 Nov 23;13(11):e073307. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073307.
Health and care resources are under increasing pressure, partly due to the ageing population. Physical activity supports healthy ageing, but motivating exercise is challenging. We aimed to explore staff perceptions towards a virtual reality (VR) omnidirectional treadmill (MOTUS), aimed at increasing physical activity for older adult care home residents.
Interactive workshops and qualitative evaluation.
Eight interactive workshops were held at six care homes and two university sites across Cornwall, England, from September to November 2021.
Forty-four staff participated, including care home, supported living, clinical care and compliance managers, carers, activity coordinators, occupational therapists and physiotherapists.
Participants tried the VR treadmill system, followed by focus groups exploring device design, potential usefulness or barriers for care home residents. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. We subsequently conducted a follow-up interview with the technology developer (September 2022) to explore the feedback impact.
The analysis produced seven key themes: anticipated benefits, acceptability, concerns of use, concerns of negative effects, suitability/unsuitability, improvements and current design. Participants were generally positive towards VR to motivate care home residents' physical activity and noted several potential benefits (increased exercise, stimulation, social interaction and rehabilitation). Despite the reported potential, staff had safety concerns for frail older residents due to their standing position. Participants suggested design improvements to enhance safety, usability and accessibility. Feedback to the designers resulted in the development of a new seated VR treadmill to address concerns about falls while maintaining motivation to exercise. The follow-up developer interview identified significant value in academia-industry collaboration.
The use of VR-motivated exercise holds the potential to increase exercise, encourage reminiscence and promote meaningful activity for care home residents. Staff concerns resulted in a redesigned seated treadmill for those too frail to use the standing version. This novel study demonstrates the importance of stakeholder feedback in product design.
健康和护理资源面临越来越大的压力，部分原因是人口老龄化。身体活动有助于健康老龄化，但激励锻炼具有挑战性。我们旨在探索工作人员对虚拟现实（VR）全方位跑步机（MOTUS）的看法，该跑步机旨在增加老年护理院居民的身体活动。
互动研讨会和定性评估。
2021 年 9 月至 11 月，在英格兰康沃尔的六家护理院和两个大学地点举行了八次互动研讨会。
44 名工作人员参加了研讨会，包括护理院、支持生活、临床护理和合规经理、护理人员、活动协调员、职业治疗师和物理治疗师。
参与者试用 VR 跑步机系统，然后参加焦点小组讨论，探讨设备设计、对护理院居民的潜在有用性或障碍。焦点小组的音频记录、逐字转录并进行主题分析。随后，我们于 2022 年 9 月对技术开发人员进行了跟进访谈，以探讨反馈的影响。
分析产生了七个关键主题：预期效益、可接受性、使用顾虑、负面效果顾虑、适宜性/不适宜性、改进和当前设计。参与者普遍对 VR 激发护理院居民的身体活动持积极态度，并指出了几个潜在的好处（增加锻炼、刺激、社交互动和康复）。尽管有报道称存在潜在的好处，但工作人员出于对体弱老年人的安全考虑，对他们站立的位置表示担忧。参与者建议进行设计改进，以提高安全性、可用性和可访问性。对设计者的反馈导致开发了一种新的坐姿 VR 跑步机，以解决对跌倒的担忧，同时保持锻炼的动力。后续的开发人员访谈确定了学术界与工业界合作的重要价值。
使用 VR 激发的锻炼有潜力增加锻炼、鼓励怀旧和促进护理院居民的有意义活动。工作人员的担忧导致为那些太虚弱而无法使用站立式跑步机的人设计了一款新的坐姿跑步机。这项新研究表明了利益相关者反馈在产品设计中的重要性。
