Virtual reality (VR) project ‘Planet Wellbeing’ is being launched by Sheffield Hallam University in partnership with the charity Age UK Sheffield, Pixelmill Digital, and Innerva, and to combat isolation among the elderly.
Through pastimes like dance and games, users of Planet Wellbeing may get in touch with one another and have a good time while being active in a digital setting.
Seniors’ participation in the design process guarantees that the final product will be used by people of varying physical capacities.
Participants’ happiness with life, in addition to their degrees of isolation, hopelessness, and anxiousness, will be measured.
The funding comes from the 2023 Mindset Extended Reality for Digital Mental Health initiative hosted by Innovate UK. The programme’s ultimate goal is to increase the accessibility of psychological wellness and health care by funding creative approaches that use fully immersive technology.
Loneliness is now seen as a major societal issue. According to research by Age UK, almost one in four British seniors express feeling lonely on a regular basis. Loneliness can have serious psychological and physiological consequences.
The Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University’s Dr. Ben Heller remarked that this study expands on our more than a decade of studies showing that engaging older adults in stimulating, communal endeavours in virtual worlds may inspire them to get physical more often.
The Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre’s mission is to find ways to use movement to enhance health and well-being, thus this fits in well with that mission.
The Centre for Loneliness Studies at Sheffield Hallam University, directed by Professor Andrea Wigfield, is also contributing to the effort.
Power-assisted exercise expert Innerva’s Commercial Director Jon Hymus stated, “Loneliness and social isolation have a substantial influence on the mental health and wellness of older persons.
Planet Wellbeing’s creators claim that its virtual environment will help with this problem since it is secure, interesting, and welcoming to all users.
CEO of PixelMill Digital, Vin Sumner, remarked that PixelMill is eager to take use of Planet Wellbeing’s platform to create a tool that would aid the socially isolated.
Age UK Sheffield’s Chief Executive, Teresa Barker, is enthusiastic about participating in the partnership and developing Planet Wellbeing with other industry leaders.
We think this virtual environment might completely change how we treat the mental health of the elderly.
