Virtual reality as a therapy option for patients with severe mental disorders focusing on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
This thesis provides a Virtual Reality (VR) application as a feasible intervention to improve the symptoms and overall quality of life of people diagnosed with a severe mental disorder, in particular schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. These serious and chronic mental illnesses significantly impact patients’ quality of life and, since healthcare is in short supply when it comes to traditional care, there is very little focus on rehabilitation to society. The study consists of designing and developing a VR application aiming to address patients’ life challenges. The purpose is to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of using this kind of therapy to improve symptoms and quality of life in patients, examine the concept of empowerment in relation to the therapy and measure usability and user experience related to the use of the VR application. Iterative involvement with proxy end-users in three stages of development underscores the potential of a VR application to significantly support the management of daily activities for people diagnosed with severe mental health diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as long as it is implemented with meticulous attention. From this, 7 design guidelines are drawn: i) focus on modularity in the virtual environment, ii) reality-based does not mean better, iii) capitalize on clarity in instructions, iv) perserve the player’s freedom of choice, v) the importance of customisation in the application, vi) simplicity in the design is key, and vii) safeguarding through task-oriented design.
Tölvunarfræði, Meistaraprófsritgerðir, Sýndarveruleiki, Geðsjúkdómar, Computer science, Virtual reality, Mental illness
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