Co-Designing Persuasive Virtual Reality Supermarkets for
                         Practicing Activities of Daily Living – Extended Abstract

                         Ethan McDonnell, Riley Mosca, Clare Burns, Trevor Russell and Nilufar Baghaei
                         The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia



                                         Keywords 1
                                         Virtual reality, VR, Persuasive VR, Rehabilitation, User Study




                         Figure 1: Virtual Reality Supermarket

                         Acquired brain injury (ABI) is the broad term given to the injury of the brain after birth. These
                         brain injuries affect the functional ability, physical integrity and or metabolic activity of the
                         brain’s nerve cells. ABI is a common cause of disability, affecting approximately 1 in 45
                         Australians. These types of chronic health conditions require careful monitoring and intervention
                         by professionals. Despite the many studies undertaken, there are still many of which that fail to
                         show efficacy due to the heterogeneity of brain injuries. One method of treatment that is relatively
                         new but shows significant potential is that of virtual reality and its use in rehabilitation.
                            Virtual reality experiences often enhance user engagement and motivation and thus are
                         engaging and enjoyable. Using a persuasive VR supermarket for rehabilitation can offer several
                         benefits, particularly in the context of persuasive therapy: Realistic Environment Simulation,
                         Functional Task Training, Cognitive Rehabilitation, individualised Difficulty Levels, Reduced
                         Anxiety, Continuous Monitoring and Feedback, Increased Motivation, Remote Rehabilitation, and
                         Cost reduction. The persuasive design elements we used in the VR supermarket included:
                         immersive environment, task list for users, positive reinforcement and interactive feedback. We
                         believe the persuasive design further contributes to a positive user experience, which can
                         significantly contribute to the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs.

                         In: Kiemute Oyibo, Wenzhen Xu, Elena Vlahu-Gjorgievska (eds.): The Adjunct Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on
                         Persuasive Technology, April 10, 2024, Wollongong, Australia
                         EMAIL: ethan@xelle.com (Ethan McDonnell); r.mosca@uq.net.au (Riley Mosca); clare.burns@uq.edu.au (Clare Burns); t.russell@uq.edu.au
                         (Trevor Russell); n.baghaei@uq.edu.au (Nilufar Baghaei);
                         ORCID: 0000-0002-9752-1739 (Clare Burns); 000-0002-9732-6167 (Trevor Russell); 0000-0003-1776-7075 (Nilufar Baghaei)
                                      ©️ 2024 Copyright for this paper by its authors.
                                      Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
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    Our study brings a novel approach to virtual reality environments in clinical settings, as it was
co-designed with a physiotherapist and speech pathologist with expertise in clinical
rehabilitation. Understanding the clinical context and user requirements within a rehabilitation
environment guided the iterative supermarket design process. Their feedback was leveraged
through feedback sessions where the environment was demonstrated. This was done in two main
iterations discussing plans for the environment at the start and a major demonstration after
significant progress in development. The initial supermarket environment was then tested in a
non-clinical setting to examine usability and inform modifications that would need to be
undertaken prior to considering the tool for use with patients within a clinical rehabilitation
setting (n=19). The study was approved by the Human Ethics Committee at the University of
Queensland.
    We used System Usability Scale, NASA Task Load Index, Slater-Usoh-Steed Questionnaire as
well as collecting subjective feedback. The usability assessment indicated an overall usability
score of 82.5 or “A” rating. The level of immersion assessment resulted in a high average score
for the group of 72.56 but with mixed responses. Lastly participants were recorded finishing the
tasks assigned in an average time of 7 minutes 50 seconds. The participants enjoyed the
experience and made some suggestions for further improving the user experience. Overall, the
study showed significant potential for using a co-designed VR environment for rehabilitation in a
clinical setting.