Karlstad Municipality
Introduction
ViroteaED is the result of an innovation procurement initiated by Karlstad Municipality and Digital Well Arena, where Virotea managed to win the procurement. The challenge that Karlstad faced was to explore the possibilities of using digital technology to create an understanding of life with different forms of cognitive impairment. The solution sought not only to be part of staff training, enable shared experiences simultaneously for several people and support different experiences based on different types of cognitive impairment, but also to be scaled up and developed gradually over time. The digital service, ViroteaED, aimed to increase the staff's ability to understand and meet the needs of people with cognitive impairment, which in turn would strengthen the sense of security and trust in the care staff among the individuals concerned.
Karlstad's strategy was to develop a solution through an agile process in close collaboration between the public and private sectors, based on real needs and with an integrated needs analysis. The resulting solution was ViroteaED, a digital skills development tool with VR as an enabler. This tool gives employees the opportunity to experience and understand different forms of cognitive impairment on a deeper level, which improves healthcare and care through increased understanding and quality assurance.
Challenge
Karlstad thought about how, using digital scalable technology, they could make people experience what it feels like to live with different types of cognitive impairment, in a way that would:
Act as part of training/further training for staff, where multiple people can share the same experience at the same time.
Contribute to a better understanding of the situation of those affected.
Be able to support different experiences, based on different types of cognitive impairment.
Scale up and further develop in small steps.
The digital service would mean that those who take part in it would have an increased ability to make everyday life more understandable for the individuals concerned, as well as an increased ability to meet the needs of those individuals who are unable to express what they want or need. This would increase and strengthen the sense of security and trust in the care staff among those concerned.
Solution
Karlstad's philosophy regarding the solution to the challenge "Experience my reality" was that the solution needed to be based on a real perceived need from the public sector and developed in an agile process together with companies and the public sector. The service would be scalable and thus also develop over time and the needs analysis was integrated into the entire process. The solution that emerged is a digital skills development tool with VR as an enabler and supports employees in what it is like to live with different types of cognitive impairment. This contributes to a better understanding of the situation of those affected and contributes to quality assurance of healthcare and care.
Results
The result has been positive for both LSS & elderly care employees. By undergoing interactive training, the employee gets a "wow experience" and experiences a completely different feeling about the training situation than in a classic classroom training. VR as a motivational tool is powerful as the experience brings a feeling of being in the environment and experiencing the event firsthand. The fact that several people can share the same experience at the same time means that it is also possible to compare the experience, to develop the discussion about appropriate approaches and, based on the experience, to gain insight into how care and nursing can be carried out in a better way.