Suara Cooperativa announced this Wednesday how it is using immersive reality to improve the mental health, emotional, cognitive and physical well-being of people of all ages.
In a world of constant technological progress, Suara Cooperativa has as one of its founding values putting innovation at the service of people. "Technology is a fundamental tool to provide answers to the main social challenges and, without a doubt, mental health is one of them"; defended Jordi Picas, director of the organization's Innovation area, during his intervention at the II Conference on cases of use of immersive technology in social care, which was attended by around seventy people , between face-to-face and virtual mode.
In fact, the data backs it up: according to the World Health Organization, a quarter of the world's population will experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime, and in 50% of cases, before the age of 14 . Another of the great challenges of European societies is the aging of the population which, together with the extension of life expectancy, means that there are more and more people in advanced ages with cognitive and physical impairments.
To provide an innovative response to both these challenges and others, Suara Cooperativa has created the Social Digital Lab, a social innovation laboratory, which implements immersive reality in the health, care and well-being sectors. "It is a very versatile tool, since it allows us to recreate real work environments, which facilitates therapy, personalizes the intervention, increases accessibility and improves treatment adherence, making therapies more attractive and motivating". explained Picas.
How to treat senile dementia with immersive reality
Munira Sultana, PhD and researcher of Immersive Technology in aging processes at the University of Windsor and Erie Shores HealthCare, has presented "Albert Project, Ontario Canada", which uses this technology in aging processes with senile dementia with aggressive attitudes In these cases, it is recommended not to carry out pharmacological interventions, but that people participate in activities that serve to raise the mood, sensory stimulation and calm the nerves. It is at this point, where the use of immersive reality from companies like Broomx, with which both Sultana and Suara work, comes into play, to recreate these atmospheres and environments while being a technology that can be used anywhere and moment and has "a friendly budget".
After several sessions, aggressive people are "calmer, happier, more relaxed, eat better and communicate more than usual during follow-up interventions", defended the expert, who believes that immersive reality is 'should be implemented in a more regular way in homes for the elderly where there are people with dementia processes.
REVIVE, a Suara Cooperativa project against cognitive impairment
Suara Cooperativa, together with Broomx and the Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa (CST), launched the REVIVE project more than a year ago to support people in the aging process with cognitive and physical impairment. This is a program with different structured experiences that promote cognitive stimulation.
This project, which has recently been awarded the 2024 Eines Award in the Catalonia category, aims to slow down the aging process so that people can carry out their daily activities. Beyond the health benefits, this also has a positive impact on your emotional well-being.
"It gives security to professionals in mental health centers or for the elderly, as it offers guidelines on how to use everything and apply it, with a scientific contrast. Although we give it as a very closed tool, it can be adapted to the reality of the center or territory", defends Ignasi Capellà de Broomx.
REVIVE therapeutic sessions, which are led by an expert person, are held in groups and, in this way, another key challenge of aging is also combated: unwanted loneliness, as the participants network and community with others who are in the same situation.
"We rehearse in real environments like those you can find on the street and practice what we want with people. In addition, the advantage is that since they don't wear glasses, it allows us to work in groups", explains Maite Garolera, director of the Brain, Cognition and Conduct research group of the Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa.
Maria Torres, director of a service for the elderly at Suara Cooperativa, expressed herself in a similar way: "We were very surprised that we were inside, that it was real and that we experienced it. We worked a lot on cognitive stimulation and what they liked the most is the Street View, for example, going to the town where they were born and walking through its streets after 40 years", said Torres.
For her part, Bárbara Outeiro, head of Suara Cooperativa's Open Innovation, emphasized the importance of co-creating with partners with different areas of expertise, as is the case at REVIVE. “The CST is our scientific leg; Broomx, tecnologia and Suara are lucky to have the social leg from where they can experiment through the Social Digital Lab in their services", says Outeiro.
Immersive Mindfulness
The day also had a table where it was possible to learn about different Suara Cooperativa projects to improve the mental health, well-being and emotional management of working people or those who are in stages such as childhood, adolescence and youth .
In the last five years, there has been a 50% increase in unemployment at the same time that 20% of working people suffer from mental health disorders related to their workplace, according to a news published on the website of the University of Manresa . A situation that has led Suara Cooperativa to launch projects such as Immersive Mindfulness, which was born in 2020 during the covid pandemic to accompany partners and workers with high levels of stress and anxiety. Currently, any member and worker can make use of it.
Marta Achutegui, a nurse with more than 20 years of experience in psychiatry and who has worked at Vall d'Hebron Hospital, leads this project that helps reduce stress and anxiety, develop emotional resilience, as well as improve the quality of sleep, concentration and attention. This, without a doubt, also has benefits for the organization because it reduces work absenteeism, generates a better working climate and increases both creativity and productivity.
"We don't have to wait for a list of patients to teach them this technology, but we have to work from prevention and training the workers", emphasizes Achutegui who adds: "The room allows us to do complete meditations and that, with basic instructions, they can transfer these learnings in their services to reduce stress, improve anxiety".
For her part, Natàlia Alonso explained the different programs that Suara Cooperativa has in place with children, teenagers and young people in both individual and group sessions with the people who already work in the services and, therefore, it has already been generated a bond Some interventions, in which families are also involved. "The anchoring is much clearer in teenagers and young people in immersive environments, than in a more clinical or medical space where they don't feel so comfortable to talk", remarks Alonso.
After the interventions, the people who attended in person were able to have a taste of different immersive experiences and a space for networking was enabled.
