Abstract
Background: Older adults living in long term care, rehabilitation hospitals, and seniors' residences often experience reduced mobility, sometimes resulting in confinement indoors and isolation, which can introduce or aggravate symptoms of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and apathy. As Virtual Reality (VR) technologies become increasingly accessible and affordable, there is a unique opportunity to enable older adults to escape their restricted physical realities and be transported to both stimulating and calming places which may improve their general well-being. To date no robust evaluations of the use of immersive VR therapy [experienced through a head-mounted-display (HMD)] for older adults within these settings have been reported. VR-therapy may prove to be a safe, inexpensive, non-pharmacological means of managing depressive symptoms and providing engagement and enjoyment to this rapidly growing demographic.Objectives: Establish whether it is feasible to use immersive VR technology as therapy for older adults who have reduced sensory, mobility and/or impaired cognition. This includes evaluation of tolerability, comfort, and ease of use of the HMD, and of the potential for immersive VR to provide enjoyment/relaxation and reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms.Methods: Sixty-six older adults (mean age 80.5, SD = 10.5) with varying cognitive abilities (normal = 28, mild impairment = 17, moderate impairment = 12, severe impairment = 3, unknown cognitive score = 6), and/or physical impairments, entered a multi-site non-randomized interventional study in Toronto, Canada. Participants experienced 3 to 20 min of 360°-video footage of nature scenes displayed on Samsung GearVR HMD. Data was collected through pre/post-intervention surveys, standardized observations during intervention, and post-intervention semi-structured interviews addressing the VR experience.Results: All participants completed the study with no negative side-effects reported (e.g., No dizziness, disorientation, interference with hearing aids); the average time spent in VR was 8 min and 76% of participants viewed the entire experience at least once. Participants tolerated the HMD very well; most had positive feedback, feeling more relaxed and adventurous; 76% wanted to try VR again. Better image quality and increased narrative video content were suggested to improve the experience.Conclusion: It is feasible and safe to expose older adults with various levels of cognitive and physical impairments to immersive VR within these settings. Further research should evaluate the potential benefits of VR in different settings (e.g., home/community based) and explore better customization/optimization of the VR content and equipment for the targeted populations.
Highlights
400,000 Canadians aged 65 years and older and 30% of Canadians 85 years and older live in long-term care (LTC) residences or assisted living housing [1,2,3]
Recruitment Settings and Strategy Participants were recruited from four locations in Toronto, Canada and represent a diversity of institutions that provide care for older adults: [1] The Day Treatment Center (DTC) at Baycrest Health Sciences, providing a rehabilitation program for older adults living in the community with complex medical conditions, [2] Runnymede Healthcare Centre is a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital, [3] Kensington Gardens Health Centre is a long-term care facility providing care to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and [4] Dotsa Bitove Well-ness Academy is a center providing daily programs for adults with memory loss due to mild-to-moderate dementia, their families and their care partners
During intervention measures As an overall measure of Virtual Reality (VR) experience tolerability, we reported on the percentage of participants who were able to view the entire film once and recorded how long participants kept the HMD on and viewed the films
Summary
400,000 Canadians aged 65 years and older and 30% of Canadians 85 years and older live in long-term care (LTC) residences or assisted living housing [1,2,3] They often experience comorbid conditions (e.g., sensory, cognitive, motor) that can cause limitations to functional mobility [4,5,6,7], reduced freedom [8], limited independence [3], restrictions in broad experiences [9], and social isolation. Older adults living in long term care, rehabilitation hospitals, and seniors’ residences often experience reduced mobility, sometimes resulting in confinement indoors and isolation, which can introduce or aggravate symptoms of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and apathy. VR-therapy may prove to be a safe, inexpensive, non-pharmacological means of managing depressive symptoms and providing engagement and enjoyment to this rapidly growing demographic
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