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Chief Investigator Professor Evonne Miller said the Transforming Aged Care with Virtual Reality (VR) project was a collaboration between researchers from QUT, Griffith University, the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. It was funded by a philanthropic research grant from Facebook.

“COVID-19 has been especially hard on people in aged care. One way to improve their lives is to use technology like virtual and augmented reality, which allows them to leave the four walls of their home,” said Professor Miller.

“VR can take them back to their honeymoon, let them reconnect to something important from their past or travel to a country they always wanted to visit. They can sky-dive, ride a gondola through Venice, sail a yacht and so much more. The possibilities are limitless and overcome mobility and health problems.”

Leonie Sanderson, a visiting fellow with the QUT School of Design and director of Brisbane-based The Ageing Revolution, was VR Project Manager for Transforming Aged Care with Virtual Reality (VR).

The Transformational Toolkit is now freely available online and outlines how to implement VR into aged care. It includes advice on cost of headsets, how to get started, where to find apps, safety assessments and physical space requirements.

“To integrate VR into aged care needs support from senior management and a staff champion but it is very doable, and the effort is worth the investment of time and money. Our trials produced levels of happiness and resulted in stories being shared and people feeling more valued and engaged,” she said.

The philanthropic research grant from Facebook is enabling the project to integrate these VR technologies into six Australian aged care facilities.

If you would like to support this project, you can make a donation here. Or, if you are a US resident and would like to support one of QUT's priority areas, you can do so here.

More information on the project, including videos, is available online.