Delivering group support for people with aphasia in a virtual world: experiences of service providers.

Purpose: This study explored the acceptability to service providers of delivering a novel group support intervention for people with aphasia (PWA) in a virtual world. Materials and methods: The service providers were six group coordinators and 10 volunteers. Fourteen of the service providers participated in a semi-structured qualitative interview and 15 took part in a con- sensus group discussion. Qualitative interviews were analysed using framework analysis. For consensus group discussions, nominal group rankings were analysed and semantically similar responses were identified. Results: Service providers described the virtual world as a safe space in which to communicate, connect, and experiment. The key barriers were technical, particularly relating to sound and connectivity issues. Service providers suggested a range of improvements to the virtual world and intervention programme. They reported that PWA benefitted from accessing a support group in a virtual world, with opportunities to connect socially and to develop their communication skills. Conclusions: Service providers found delivery of group support intervention in a virtual world to be acceptable. The use of a bespoke virtual world to deliver group support intervention may enhance the experience and increase its accessibility, enabling more PWA to benefit from this type of intervention.