Designing Virtual Natural Environments for Older Adults: Think-Aloud Study

Rikard Lundstedt; Johanna Persson; Carita Håkansson; Susanne Frennert; Mattias Wallergård

doi:10.2196/40932

Designing Virtual Natural Environments for Older Adults: Think-Aloud Study

JMIR Hum Factors. 2023 Apr 7:10:e40932. doi: 10.2196/40932.

Authors

Rikard Lundstedt¹, Johanna Persson¹, Carita Håkansson², Susanne Frennert¹, Mattias Wallergård¹

Affiliations

¹ Ergonomics & Aerosol Technology, Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
² Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

PMID: 37027206
PMCID: PMC10131598
DOI: 10.2196/40932

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, 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.

Keywords: older adults; qualitative method; real-time 3D graphics; user-centered design; virtual natural environments.

©Rikard Lundstedt, Johanna Persson, Carita Håkansson, Susanne Frennert, Mattias Wallergård. Originally published in JMIR Human Factors (https://humanfactors.jmir.org), 07.04.2023.