Date Presented 04/05/19
SaeboVR is a virtual reality (VR) program that allows the user to practice tasks with their affected extremity within the virtual context. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of SaeboVR among individuals with UE motor impairments within their home and to acquire feedback on SaeboVR from experienced OT practitioners. Results from this study provide valuable insight into the benefits and limitations to VR intervention both in the home and clinic.
Primary Author and Speaker: Jennifer Lewis
Faculty Advisor: Allison Ellington
BACKGROUND: SaeboVR is a virtual reality (VR) program that allows the user to practice instrumental activity of daily living tasks with their affected extremity through use of the Xbox Kinect. The Provider Dashboard is a complementary application to SaeboVR that allows the administrating therapist to view a client’s performance across time. SaeboVR has never been investigated within the home environment, nor has the Provider Dashboard ever been researched before this study.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is twofold: to investigate the perceptions of SaeboVR among individuals with UE motor impairments within the home environment (SaeboVR at Home), and to acquire feedback on SaeboVR and the Provider Dashboard from experienced clinicians (Provider Dashboard).
DESIGN: Four participants with neurological diagnoses and resultant UE motor impairments were recruited from two local assisted living facilities for the SaeboVR at Home study. The design of this study was mixed-methods, producing both quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data. The Provider Dashboard study used a qualitative design; a total of 23 occupational therapy practitioners with at least one year experience were recruited for participation from four local clinics.
METHODS: Each SaeboVR at Home participant completed four 1-hour sessions where they played SaeboVR within their apartments. Outcome measures for this study included a semi-structured interview and a 32-item SaeboVR questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), completed following the final session. Survey results were analyzed using Pearson product correlation analysis to determine connections between a total of 7 subscales of the TAM, including such factors as Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, and Behavioral Intention to Use. Interview data was transcribed & coded, and themes were extracted from coded data. Participants in the Provider Dashboard study took part in a lunchtime demonstration of SaeboVR and the Provider Dashboard, then provided feedback through a focus group discussion. Focus group data was transcribed and coded, and themes were extracted from coded data.
RESULTS: Pearson product correlation analysis revealed statistically significant connections between the following sub scales of the TAM: Perceived Ease of Use and Anxiety, Perceived Usefulness and Performance Expectancy, Age and Behavioral Intention to Use, and Attitudes Towards Technology and Perceived Usefulness. Interview data reveal that participants felt SaeboVR's activities were realistic, enjoyable, and fulfilling. SaeboVR is convenient to have in the home, but the system takes up precious space and is difficult and intimidating to set-up. Provider Dashboard focus group data reveal ways in which SaeboVR and the Provider Dashboard can be improved to better support patients and clinicians, and participants felt that SaeboVR activities provided a functional alternative to rote exercises.
CONCLUSION: SaeboVR's activities are realistic and motivating to clients, and a client is more likely to use SaeboVR if there is a clear sense it will benefit their recovery. The Provider Dashboard has potential to be a helpful tool for administrating OTs, but improvements are needed with its user-friendliness and data processing capabilities.
IMPACT STATEMENT: This study broadens the literature surrounding the use of VR in UE rehabilitation, and reveals the barriers and supports to using such technology in a variety of settings. These results have the potential to positively impact the field OT through SaeboVR's inherent emphasis on occupation-based activities in the virtual context.
References
Adams, R. J., Lichter, M. D., Ellington, A., White, M., Armstead, K., Patrie, J. T., & Diamond, P. T. (2018). Virtual activities of daily living for recovery of upper extremity motor function. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 26(1), 252-260. doi:10.1109/TNSRE.2017.2771272
Ellington, A., Adams, R., White, M., & Diamond, P. (2015). Behavioral intention to use a virtual instrumental activities of daily living system among people with stroke. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(3), 6903290030p1-6903290030p8. doi:10.5014/ajot.2015.014373
