Exploring Personalized Virtual Nature as a Tool for People Living with Severe COPD Featuring Olivia McAnirlin
Olivia McAnirlin (she/her) is a fourth year Ph.D. Candidate in the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) program and the Lab Manager of Clemson’s Virtual Reality and Nature (VRN) Lab. Her research interests include studying the psychological and physiological impacts of nature and virtual reality, as well as using virtual reality as a form of storytelling. Olivia has 15 peer-reviewed publications and one co-authored textbook chapter that explore concepts such as green space, virtual reality, gender, COVID-19, and leisure.
Olivia’s latest research centered on creating personalized nature-based VR for people with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). People living with COPD are limited in how they can connect and spend time in nature settings due to their functional status, which can then influence their quality of life. Living with end-stage COPD means that you no longer have the freedom to experience the outdoors through hiking, fishing, running, and other recreational nature pursuits because it is so difficult to breathe. Personalized, co-created virtual reality experience allows COPD patients to re-experience outdoor memories and a place they love but are no longer able to visit.
On February 21, 2023, Olivia joined us as an invited speaker.
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