Multi-user Virtual Reality for Social Connectedness: Exploring the Design Preferences of People Living with Dementia and Their Support Persons.

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly being adopted in dementia research. However, much of the research to date has focused on single-user VR applications with limited attention paid to how multi-user VR (MUVR) applications may be designed to promote or maintain social connectedness. This paper explores the design preferences of seven people living with dementia and their seven support persons to inform a MUVR application for social connectedness. The qualitative data obtained from four focus groups were analysed thematically and resulted in two main themes. The first theme, promoting social connectedness through familiarity, described people living with dementias’ need to experience MUVR with someone familiar, including familiar avatars, activities, and multisensory content. The second theme related to the need for an easy-to-use MUVR application to enrich social experiences and improve the quality of the shared MUVR experience. These findings provided design guidelines which supported the development of a MUVR application to promote or maintain the social connectedness of this population. The paper also provides information to support future MUVR design research in this area.