Beyond Control
Access, embodiment, and therapeutic interaction in VR for older adults – insights from a co-design workshop
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54337/aau.icdvrat26.43Abstract
This paper examines interaction design challenges in virtual reality (VR) therapeutic applications for older adults in geriatric and palliative care. Drawing on a co-design workshop with six clinical psychologists, the study explores how interaction unfolds across the full trajectory of therapeutic VR use – from preparation and onboarding through immersion to post-session reflection. The findings reveal that interaction emerges through the ongoing negotiation of diverse embodied conditions, therapeutic mediation, and clinical environments. Informed by disability studies and critical access perspectives, the paper argues that therapeutic VR systems actively shape conditions of participation, autonomy, and engagement, advancing an understanding of participation as a situated, interdependent, and care-dependent achievement.
References
AccessibleEU Consortium, (2024), AccessibleEU Final Report, European Commission, pp.1–9.
Appel, L., Ali, S. and Narag, T., (2021), Virtual reality to promote wellbeing in persons with dementia: A scoping review, J. Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering, 8, Article 20556683211053952.
Bandura, A., (1977), Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change, Psychological Review, 84(2), pp.191–215.
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers
Garland-Thomson, R. (2011), Misfits: A feminist materialist disability concept, Hypatia, 26(3), pp.591–609.
Hamraie, A., (2017), Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Hornbæk, K. and Oulasvirta, A., (2017), What is interaction?, Proc. CHI Conf. Human Factors in Computing Systems, Denver, pp.5040–5052.
Huygelier, H. et al., (2019), Acceptance of immersive head-mounted VR in older adults, Scientific Reports, 9, Article 4519.
Jain, P. and Bayerlein, C., (2026), Hand to Mouth: Shifting the Bare-Minimum Accessibility Paradigm in XR, Ethics and Information Technology, 28, Article 16.
Kouijzer, M.M.T.E. et al., (2023), Implementation of virtual reality in healthcare: a scoping review, Implementation Science Communications, 4, Article 67.
Langer, E.J. and Rodin, J., (1976), The effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged, J. Personality and Social Psychology, 34(2), pp.191–198.
Li, Y. et al., (2024), VR Mental Health Interventions in Geriatric Care: A Scoping Review, Rehabilitation, 63(4), pp.209–219.
Mo, J. et al., (2022), How effective is VR in palliative care? A systematic review, Palliative Medicine, 36(7), pp.1113–1122.
Moloney, M. et al., (2023), Virtual reality use and patient outcomes in palliative care: a scoping review, Digital Health, 9, Article 20552076231207574.
Ng, R. et al., (2024), Participatory design of a VR life review therapy system for palliative care, Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 5, Article 1304615.
Sanders, E.B.-N. and Stappers, P.J., (2008), Co-creation and the new landscapes of design, CoDesign, 4(1), pp.5–18.
Saredakis, D. et al., (2020), Factors associated with VR sickness, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 14, Article 96.
Shew, A., (2020), Ableism, technoableism, and future AI, IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 39(1), pp.40–47.
Titchkosky, T., (2011), The Question of Access: Disability, Space, Meaning, University of Toronto Press, Toronto.
Wobbrock, J.O. et al., (2011), Ability-based design: Concept, principles and examples, ACM Trans. Accessible Computing, 3(3), pp.1–27.
