Promoting Mental Health for Tertiary-Sector Workers. Exploring an Innovative Approach Based on Repeated Immersion in an Artistic Environment.   

Romina Barony

Impact

  • Mental health professionals, multimedia professionals and those working in the cultural sector will be able to use the project’s findings to highlight the importance of artistic installations in promoting Canadians' mental health.

  • The immersive experience developed through this project will soon be evaluated. It will then be made available to staff in various workplaces, helping to support the mental health of employees.

  • Quebec

  • Studentship

  • Université Laval

  • La Piscine

  • Mitacs

  • 2022-2023

  • Workplace Mental Health

  • People at work

About the Project

This project aimed to explore the potential of immersive artistic experiences—such as virtual reality installations—to support the mental health of workers in the tertiary sector. Two main objectives guided the work: 1) conducting a systematic review of the scientific literature on the effects of such experiences on psychological well-being in the workplace, and 2) designing a rigorous methodology to evaluate an immersive artistic intervention in the short and medium term.

Methodology

The majority of the work involved a systematic literature review with the following objectives:

  1. Identifying key empirical studies examining immersive experiences and their impact on the mental health of workers, especially women workers;

  2. Highlighting key findings and characteristics of the immersive experiences studied, the types of observed impacts (and evaluation methods), and the population groups involved.

Due to the limited number of studies specifically on immersive art in workplace settings, the search criteria were broadened to include virtual reality experiences with therapeutic goals. This process identified over 4,700 articles, of which 429 were retained for full analysis.

Findings

  • Although the systematic review is not yet finalized, preliminary analysis has already informed the creation of a new immersive installation developed by La Piscine and OASIS Immersion. This experience, focused on psychological well-being, will be open to the public in fall 2024.

  • A randomized research protocol to evaluate its impact has been submitted to the Université Laval ethics board.

  • Early findings highlight a lack of robust studies targeting workers in the tertiary sector. They also reveal growing interest in artistic and technological interventions in the workplace, while emphasizing the need for more rigorous research to assess their concrete effects.

Project Outreach

The experimental phase began in fall 2024 in Quebec through a randomized study involving workers in the tertiary sector. Results will be disseminated across Canada with the hope of inspiring similar immersive experiences that promote workplace mental health.

Resources Created

  • 1 systematic literature review (in progress), to be submitted to Arts & Health journal.

  • 1 scientific article in preparation for the Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health.

  • 1 research protocol submitted to the Université Laval ethics board for a randomized study.

  • 1 immersive artistic installation developed by La Piscine and OASIS Immersion, which will serve as the basis for the intervention.

  • 1 research report and several planned presentations at national and international conferences.

  • Copies of the scientific publications were provided to the main partner, La Piscine, to support their dissemination and development efforts.

  • Results will be published in a scientific journal and presented at 2–3 conferences.