What are the perceptions, barriers and opportunities for spatial computing in health and self-care among UK adults? A cross-sectional online survey of the public and healthcare professionals
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
El-Osta, Austen
Qiu, Connor
Alaa, Aos
Adam, Mohammed
Altalib, Sami
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Objectives To assess public and healthcare professional knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviours regarding spatial computing technologies, virtual reality (fully immersive computer-generated environments), augmented reality (digital overlays on the physical world) and mixed reality (spatially anchored holograms) in healthcare, with a focus on perceived benefits for self-care and barriers to adoption in primary care and community settings.
Design Cross-sectional online survey.
Setting UK-wide, web-based survey conducted between January 2025 and August 2025.
Participants Community-dwelling adults aged ≥18 years residing in the UK, including healthcare professionals. A total of 405 respondents completed the survey; 41 were healthcare professionals.
Interventions No intervention was delivered. Participants completed a structured questionnaire assessing familiarity with spatial computing, perceived utility across self-care domains aligned to the Seven Pillars of Self-Care and perceived barriers to adoption.
Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcomes were self-reported familiarity with spatial computing technologies and perceived benefit across self-care domains. Secondary outcomes included perceived barriers to adoption and associations between demographic characteristics and familiarity. Analyses used descriptive statistics and exploratory inferential tests (χ², Fisher’s exact, Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Bonferroni correction).
Results Most respondents (71.4%) reported familiarity with spatial computing technologies, although regular use was uncommon (4.7%). Oculus Quest (57.5%) and Apple Vision Pro (46.9%) were the most recognised platforms. Participants perceived strong potential for supporting health literacy, mental well-being and physical activity, particularly through guided mindfulness, avatar-led exercise and immersive patient education. Perceived benefit was lower for medication management and dietary guidance. Familiarity was statistically associated with gender (p<0.001), age (p=0.002) and ethnicity (p=0.006), with higher awareness among men, younger adults and some minority ethnic groups. The most frequently cited barriers to adoption were high cost (56.5% rating as critical), lack of training (67.4% rating 4–5) and data privacy concerns (63.5%).
Conclusions Spatial computing is viewed positively by the public and healthcare professionals as a tool to support self-care and aspects of healthcare delivery, particularly health literacy, mental well-being and physical activity. However, high cost, training gaps and privacy concerns remain substantial barriers. Targeted investment in evidence generation, workforce training and inclusive governance will be necessary to support equitable and responsible implementation.
Design Cross-sectional online survey.
Setting UK-wide, web-based survey conducted between January 2025 and August 2025.
Participants Community-dwelling adults aged ≥18 years residing in the UK, including healthcare professionals. A total of 405 respondents completed the survey; 41 were healthcare professionals.
Interventions No intervention was delivered. Participants completed a structured questionnaire assessing familiarity with spatial computing, perceived utility across self-care domains aligned to the Seven Pillars of Self-Care and perceived barriers to adoption.
Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcomes were self-reported familiarity with spatial computing technologies and perceived benefit across self-care domains. Secondary outcomes included perceived barriers to adoption and associations between demographic characteristics and familiarity. Analyses used descriptive statistics and exploratory inferential tests (χ², Fisher’s exact, Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Bonferroni correction).
Results Most respondents (71.4%) reported familiarity with spatial computing technologies, although regular use was uncommon (4.7%). Oculus Quest (57.5%) and Apple Vision Pro (46.9%) were the most recognised platforms. Participants perceived strong potential for supporting health literacy, mental well-being and physical activity, particularly through guided mindfulness, avatar-led exercise and immersive patient education. Perceived benefit was lower for medication management and dietary guidance. Familiarity was statistically associated with gender (p<0.001), age (p=0.002) and ethnicity (p=0.006), with higher awareness among men, younger adults and some minority ethnic groups. The most frequently cited barriers to adoption were high cost (56.5% rating as critical), lack of training (67.4% rating 4–5) and data privacy concerns (63.5%).
Conclusions Spatial computing is viewed positively by the public and healthcare professionals as a tool to support self-care and aspects of healthcare delivery, particularly health literacy, mental well-being and physical activity. However, high cost, training gaps and privacy concerns remain substantial barriers. Targeted investment in evidence generation, workforce training and inclusive governance will be necessary to support equitable and responsible implementation.
Date Issued
2026-06-01
Date Acceptance
2026-06-17
Citation
BMJ Open, 2026, 16 (6)
ISSN
2044-6055
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
BMJ Open
Volume
16
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1136/bmjopen-2026-116872
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e116872
Date Publish Online
2026-06-28