Immersive reality experiences of young people living with an illness: A formative assessment of The Patience Project

Abstract

The Patience Project is aimed at promoting social connectedness for young people (aged 12- 18 years) who experience a health condition that prevents them from participating in their usual social and/or educational environment. Young people living with an illness are considered amongst the most disadvantaged and isolated patients in the health care system internationally (Davis, Vetere, Ashkanasy, Dyson, Schofield, Thompson, Withers, & Thomas, 2008). The Patience Project aims to bridge the gap from exclusion to inclusion for young people, using head-mounted displays (HMD), often referred to as VR (Virtual Reality) Headsets, to live stream video images from a social or educational environment of the young person’s choice. The project involves an immersive 360 live streaming experience, rather than computergenerated experience, where the young person can control the 360 field of vision in a realworld situation.