Welcome to the InfoSci Platform
Reference Hub6
The Restorative Effects of Virtual Reality Forests on Elderly Individuals During the COVID-19 Lockdown

The Restorative Effects of Virtual Reality Forests on Elderly Individuals During the COVID-19 Lockdown

Shaofeng Yuan, Futai Tao, Ying Li
Copyright: © 2022 |Volume: 34 |Issue: 6 |Pages: 22
ISSN: 1546-2234|EISSN: 1546-5012|EISBN13: 9781799893295|DOI: 10.4018/JOEUC.297626
Cite Article Cite Article

MLA

Yuan, Shaofeng, et al. "The Restorative Effects of Virtual Reality Forests on Elderly Individuals During the COVID-19 Lockdown." JOEUC vol.34, no.6 2022: pp.1-22. http://doi.org/10.4018/JOEUC.297626

APA

Yuan, S., Tao, F., & Li, Y. (2022). The Restorative Effects of Virtual Reality Forests on Elderly Individuals During the COVID-19 Lockdown. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing (JOEUC), 34(6), 1-22. http://doi.org/10.4018/JOEUC.297626

Chicago

Yuan, Shaofeng, Futai Tao, and Ying Li. "The Restorative Effects of Virtual Reality Forests on Elderly Individuals During the COVID-19 Lockdown," Journal of Organizational and End User Computing (JOEUC) 34, no.6: 1-22. http://doi.org/10.4018/JOEUC.297626

Export Reference

Mendeley
Favorite Full-Issue Download

Abstract

This study focuses on the restorative effects of immersive virtual reality (VR) forest experiences on elderly people during the COVID-19 lockdown. A field experiment with 63 elderly participants was conducted in an elderly care institution in China. The results showed that a five-minute VR forest experience with three minutes of subsequent reliving can bring immediate psychological improvements (i.e., increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and enhanced stress recovery) to elderly individuals. The negative affect decrease and stress recovery enhancement were more obvious among introverted individuals. Furthermore, participating in three VR forest experiences over 3 consecutive days can bring continuous psychological improvements. Moreover, short VR forest experiences were unable to significantly decrease the blood pressure of participants. The effects of three VR experiences over 3 days on blood pressure improvement were also nonsignificant. Additionally, VR forest experiences can increase elderly participants’ intentions to undertake real forest therapy.