Restorative virtual environments for rehabilitation: interactive technologies for enhanced recovery following critical illness and injury

Small, Charlotte Lucy ORCID: 0000-0001-8338-7658 (2019). Restorative virtual environments for rehabilitation: interactive technologies for enhanced recovery following critical illness and injury. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The expectation for patients surviving admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is that they make the best possible functional recovery. Rehabilitation from the point of physiological stability is directed at reducing the impact of the consequences of critical illness. It was proposed that interactive technologies (iTech) could be used by patients on the ICU to enhance their trajectory and experience of recovery. The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate methodologies to investigate the feasibility of introducing novel iTech-based systems to the ICU. Four novel Virtual Natural Environments were combined with commercial-off-the-shelf technologies to produce interventions to improve pain management and sleep and enhance deep breathing and cycling exercises. Cohort and intervention choice were informed by the development of programme theories describing how the interventions might work. These were further developed and used to investigate mediators and modifiers of response to the interventions. Human Centred Design and Usability Engineering techniques were combined with methods to evaluate complex interventions in clinical settings. The four feasibility studies developed and refined methodologies to evaluate their usefulness and effectiveness. This research concludes with lessons learned and a guide to inform future development and implementation.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):