Lauren Genest ’27 spent her summer finding ways to bring nature to weary caregivers.
The occupational therapy major was testing whether virtual reality (VR) could help lessen the mental strain for caregivers in Tamworth, New Hampshire, designing an eight-week curriculum that delivered VR headsets featuring guided meditation and breathing exercises, tai chi – and 360-degree footage of local trails and landmarks that Genest filmed herself, alongside a leader of the town’s hiking group.
The aim was to help combat the burnout and mental strain that often develops when family members or others are pressed into caregiving roles with little training and few coping strategies, particularly in rural communities often underserved by the health care system. And it didn’t take any official data to illustrate the impact.
“Even before I had the true, numerical results I could see how what I was doing was changing lives,” Genest says.
Genest’s research is supported by the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) through the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research, in collaboration with the Tamworth Community Nurse Association and community partner Julie Lanoie. Genest developed the eight-week curriculum working with professor Sajay Arthanat and clinical assistant professor Marguerite Corvini.
