Stress levels in prisons reduced with a virtual reality project

This year, the roundtable discussions at the III Innovation Conference, where the main initiatives promoted by various healthcare centres and hospitals in Catalonia were explained, were complemented by the first Showcase organized at the Rise Center. At this showcase, the Virtual Scape innovation project was presented, which uses virtual reality to reduce stress and anxiety levels in prisons and juvenile justice centres in Catalonia. The program, led by Aitor-Eneko Oliveras Albiztur, Head of Nursing Management for Penitentiary Mental Health at SJD, has so far been applied to the Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation Hospital Unit at Brians 2 prison and the Therapeutic Unit at the Els Til·lers juvenile justice centre, with encouraging results.

A hopeful proposal

The therapeutic team uses virtual reality to recreate immersive experiences in relaxing environments, such as natural landscapes, with the aim of improving emotional well-being in these freedom-deprived settings. Initial data from this study, which is in the evaluation phase, confirm that disruptive behaviours are reduced, the demand for additional psychopharmacological treatment decreases, and isolation diminishes, among other benefits. This new treatment could also be applied to elderly people "with mobility issues who cannot access other treatments," assured Laura Fernández, coordinator of the Day Hospital at Parc Sanitari SJD. Promoting the exchange of experiences, as in this case, has been one of the objectives achieved at this conference, which reached its third edition this year, focusing on the challenges, realities, and opportunities in ageing.

"Things haven’t changed that much," stated Dr. Sebastià J. Santaeugènia, CEO of the Parc Sanitari SJD, encouraging attendees to continue promoting innovative ideas, including those focused on the elderly.