The Garden of Healthy Aging: Project Development and Evaluation

Susan Toth-Cohen, PhD, OTR/L (SL: Zsuzsa Tomsen)Kathryn Koszuba, OTS (SL: Angelica Tremmor), Alyssa Sariano (SL: Bodi McIntyre)Jefferson School of Health Professions, Dept. of Occupational Therapy, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

What is the Garden of Healthy Aging?

An interactive exhibit on healthy aging focused on strategies for maintaining and improving health as one grows older 8 main topics:

Stress management Spirituality and religious practices Living with diabetes Healthy heart Healthy caregiving Healthy activity Social support

What is the purpose?

Provide education and immersive experience for residents of Second Life

Provide training to occupational therapy students on health communications and interactive design principles for use in virtual environments

Evaluate the utility of using virtual worlds for interactive health communication on healthy aging, for possible use as a preventive health program for adults >50

What is the basis of the exhibit?

• Derived from Rowe and Kahn’s (1999) famous work, Successful Aging

• Each exhibit based on current research and provides information and links to actual studies through wiki, http://otsl.pbworks.com/

• Uses interactive design principles for virtual environments (The TechVirtual)

• Each exhibit idea developed by graduate students in Occupational Therapy at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and reviewed by experts– Built by project director and graduate assistants in

the Department of Occupational Therapy at TJU

Conceptand Links to Components of Successful/ HealthyAging

Figure derived from:

Rowe & Kahn, 1999, p. 39

Maintain highcognitive and physical function

Successful/healthy agingEngage/Participate

in life

Avoid disease Avoid worseningof chronic disease

Living with diabetes Heart health Care for the caregiver

Healthy activity Social support Spirituality &religious practices

Healthy activity Future of healthy aging

How does your garden grow?(neuroplasticity)

Collaborative exhibit development timeline

• OT Center at Jefferson launched in June 2007

• Graduate students in Occupational Therapy include those doing final projects and Graduate Assistants (Fall 2007)

• Program evaluation conducted Fall 2008– Included initial exhibit on healthy aging

• Funded for expansion of Healthy Aging exhibit April 2009

• Exhibits built at new location at Fatima’s Cherished

• Study conducted March 2010

IRB (Ethics Board) Process

• Initial program evaluation for the OT Center at Jefferson in Second Life (Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 2009) was approved as exempt study in Fall 2008

• Healthy Aging exhibit expansion and pilot with older adult participants was approved as addendum September 2009, conducted March 2010

Healthy Aging Study

• Pilot with 18 participants, aged 50-69• Went through of the 8 main stations of the exhibit• Took a picture of self at each station and emailed

to researcher (built in photo-email)• Took survey (knowledge and response to exhibit)• Participated in an optional interview (optional)

Caregiving exhibit was considered “most useful”Will report results in a subsequent presentation

Collaborative Process

• Continual process of peer/student, faculty, and consultant feedback

• Weekly meetings to brainstorm exhibits and further develop resources (including wiki that accompanies Healthy Aging exhibits)

• Synthesis of expert feedback to refine exhibits

Brainstorming best way to representmain exhibit concept

Graduate Assistant Role in the Healthy Aging Garden

•Conceptualize and build prizes for each exhibit.•Attend and assist visitors at the Open Houses.•Track visitor comments and feedback.•Investigate SL and RL resources related to healthy aging.

Student Experience

• Great time!

• Challenging thinking of appropriate prizes for each exhibit.

• Building prizes and contributing ideas about the layout of the exhibit

• Wonderful opportunity to learn about and explore RL and SL resources for healthy aging

• Enjoyable to help visitors navigate the Healthy Aging Garden.

Virtual World Capabilitiesfor Exhibit Development

Interactive• Quizzes• Objects that

illustrate concepts• Objects that give

information• Events & discussions

(extensive networking opportunities)

Informational• Posters• Slide shows• Models• Videos• Web displays

Combinations

Poster with web link, table with objects that provide info in local chat, quiz, model that shows insert for diabetic shoe when clicked

• Places to visit within Second Life or groups to join

• Wiki with summaries of peer-reviewed research and information from organizations (such as American Heart Association, Alzheimer’s Association)

• All are available within virtual world via kiosks for each type of resource (Caregiving, Diabetes)

Resources

Unique Affordances of Virtual Worlds for Collaborative Project Development

• Scheduling is less problematic and collaborators are not limited by geography. Sense of presence is similar to real world

• Focus on doing and interaction

Faculty and graduate student discussstudent-initiated project

Current Challenges of Virtual Worlds for Promoting Healthy Aging

• Learning curve for:– graduate students and consultants

involved in collaboration– Exhibit participants

• Ideas for interaction can be complex to implement

• Only a small portion of target population uses virtual worlds

• At present, not optimally accessible for older adult audience but efforts are in progress to improve this

Graduate Students and Virtual Worlds: Project Based Learning

• Key Opportunities– Learn to design educational

experiences based on research and incorporating interactivity and language that eliminates jargon and is at 8th grade reading level

– Synthesize research and practical application for concrete purpose

– Fully utilize 21st century technology (virtual world, wiki, blog)

– Participate in and learn from expert and peer review process

Jefferson School of Health ProfessionsVirtual World Team

Resources and Additional Project Information

• Second Life website, http://secondlife.com• Journal of Virtual Worlds Research,

http://jvwresearch.org (July-Aug has program evaluation of the OT Center at Jefferson in Second Life)

• Project Blog, http://otsecondlife.wordpress.com/• Online Video

– Video of the OT Center at Jefferson in Second Life, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1gFem4YnWA

– Graduate Student Perspectives on Second Life Project, http://tinyurl.com/yhl8jqg

• Complete Reference List, Healthy Aging ProjectEmail: susan.toth-cohen@jefferson.edu

• Second Life Contact: IM Zsuzsa Tomsen