Usabilidade de solução de realidade virtual para prevenção de queda em pessoas idosas

Abstract

Falls are one of the main adverse events that compromise the health, independence and quality of life of elderly people. Among the prevention strategies, Health Education plays a fundamental role, and can be enhanced by innovative technologies, such as Vi rtual Reality (VR). This study aimed to analyze the usability of an educational VR game developed to prevent falls in elderly people. This is a cross -sectional study conducted with elderly people participating in a university extension project. The game wa s developed based on literature studies, materials from the Study and Research Group on Aging, Education and Inter professional Health (GEPEESI) and reports from the elderly themselves. It presents four virtual scenarios: two with risk objects and two with fall prevention strategies, in the bedroom and bathroom environments. The player has up to two minutes to identify the objects present in each scenario. VR immersion was performed using specific glasses and the elderly person was positioned in a 360° rotat ing chair to ensure safety and comfort, avoiding physical movement and possible adverse effects such as cybersickn ess. Usability was assessed using the adaptation of the questionnaire entitled Model for the Evaluation of Educational Games (MEEGA+), with ca lculation of the Agreement Index (CI). The results demonstrated high acceptance of the solution. The overall usability CI was 91.42%, with emphasis on items such as ease of learning (100%) and clarity of rules (100%). There were no reports of side effects, even among participants with a history of labyrinthitis or migraine. Therefore, the use of virtual reality proved to be a viable approach for promoting health education with a focus on preventing falls in the elderly.