On March 7, 2023, the Games Institute welcomed a delegation of researchers from Saxion University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands. The researchers, guests of the Dean of Health Dr. Lili Liu, presented health research that intersects with games and immersive and interactive technologies.
One major intersection of these two areas seeks to improve training of healthcare workers. Dr. Sjors Groeneveld presented his research and experience running the game, CARION, in classes to gamify community nurse training in the Netherlands. Dr. Marjolein den Ouden introduced her research on the technological competencies of health care workers and Dr. Marloes Bults spoke about the development of specialized training centres to improve patient care in Europe. Meanwhile, Dr. Margariet Braun presented her research centred on technology improving the quality of healthcare. Her research involved exploring virtual reality’s (VR) potential to increase the effectiveness of youth care after complex, or high-conflict, divorces.
Researchers from the GI presented their work as well. Dr. Hector Perez demonstrated the VR component of a project designed to train first responders to be dementia friendly. Other research areas presented included online misinformation on farming by Sid Heeg, haptic simulation of a human knee by Marco Moran-Ledesma, digital terrain generation and how green spaces affect health by Florian Marcher, and the aspect of presence in social VR by Eugene Kushinkov.
Through these presentations, the researchers were able to identify areas for collaboration and forge long-lasting research relationships that span the Atlantic Ocean.
The delegation of Saxion University of Applied Sciences researchers with GI staff and researchers.