{
  "abstract": "Background In care settings, access to nature is compromised due to mobility impairments. Previous studies have shown that physiological and cognitive responses are consistent between VR environments and real nature (Kjellgren, Buhrkall. J Environ Psychol. 2010;30(4):464–472; Yin, Zhu, MacNaughton, et al. Building Environment. 2018;132:255–262; Browning, Mimnaugh, van Riper, et al. Front Psychol. 2020;10:2667). A biophilic (Nature Based) intervention framework for care facilities requires further exploration. VR interventions should be based on a participant’s preferences to provide personalised content.Aim The project aimed to identify best practices for delivering and assessing health and wellbeing outcomes from Biophilic VR Interventions. A framework to include a comprehensive study procedure and a protocol to assess the intervention’s feasibility, were implemented.Method A pilot study conducted across two care facilities (hospice and care home) employed mixed research methods: the project procedure included an open day, a questionnaire and a VR Biophilic Intervention. The protocol was implemented to assess the psychophysiological responses from the interventions. A scoping review on existential philosophy was developed to identify themes to include in the project.Results VR content with dynamic and multisensory rich elements were preferred over static landscape scenes. Health and wellbeing outcomes such as stress reduction, emotion and mood, had improved along with cognitive performance. Mild sensory and mobility impairments did not affect the interventions and no cases of cybersickness were reported during the VR interventions. However, existential aspects emerged from the pilot study; lack of excitement and pride were observed and findings from a scoping review revealed meaning, purpose, agency, presence, spirituality, impact and flow, as significant themes to explore.Conclusion Existential aspects must be integrated to comprehensively assess health and wellbeing outcomes. Rich multisensory content embedded in the VR intervention provided increased health and wellbeing outcomes. An engagement questionnaire should be adopted to assess absorption during the interventions. Findings are not generalisable, further research is required.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Carolyn Thomas"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Beaumond House Hospice Care, Newark, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Elaine Smith"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Yangang Xing"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK"
      ],
      "name": "David Joseph Brown"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Andrew Knight"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P-179 Biophilic VR interventions for care settings: best practices to enhance health and wellbeing",
  "uid": "c358552c-ec57-59ad-adc9-6430c6feaabf"
}