About the project

People with mental health and substance (MHD/SUD) are marginalized in terms of education, employment, meaningful activity and social cohesion. Virtual reality (VR) technology has been used to a limited extent in the treatment of these individuals, but little is known about how immersive learning can be exploited in enhancing social participation among persons with MHD/SUD. The aims of this study is to explore facilitators and barriers for social participation in the target group and explore how to help people with MHD/SUD strengthen socio-emotional skills through immersive learning experiences.

This study forms the first part of an overall project called "VR as a facilitator of social participation among people with ROP disorders," in which the overall purpose is to develop and evaluate a VR paradigm tailored to the target group's preferences, needs and learning prerequisites to enhance social participation. This study has a mixed-method approach, with a quantitative interview survey, individual interviews with service users, and focus group interviews with service providers.

This project is founded by the Norwegian Research Council and is organized as a collaborative project between the National advisory board for mental health and substance abuse disorders (NKROP), Innlandet Hospital Trust , the Faculty of Audiovisual Media and Creative Technology (AMEK) at the Inland University College, the Centre for Diaconia and Professional Practice at VID Specialized University, RIO-

a nationwide interest organization in the field of substance abuse, and Hamar Municipality.

Background: Psychiatric nurse, Master of Mental Health Work

Research groups:

The Research forum at NKROP

The Trauma Research Group at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences,

The simulation, mental health and substance abuse research group at Innlandet Hospital Trust