Evaluating the use of interactive virtual reality technology with older adults living in residential aged care

Baker, Steven; Waycott, Jenny; Robertson, Elena; Carrasco, Romina; Neves, Bárbara Barbosa; Hampson, Ralph; Vetere, Frank

doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2019.102105

Cited by 107 publications

(192 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Providing the ability to interact allows the user to act independently and may improve the sense of presence. Recent research has found that the use of VR in providing interaction may be an alternative way of delivering stimulation to people with dementia who do not participate in other lifestyle activities [ 93 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Virtual Reality to Improve Apathy in Residential Aged Care: Mixed Methods Study

Saredakis

Keage

Corlis³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

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Background Apathy is a common symptom in neurological disorders, including dementia, and is associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline, reduced quality of life, and high caregiver burden. There is a lack of effective pharmacological treatments for apathy, and nonpharmacological interventions are a preferred first-line approach to treatment. Virtual reality (VR) using head-mounted displays (HMDs) is being successfully used in exposure- and distraction-based therapies; however, there is limited research on using HMDs for symptoms of neurological disorders. Objective This feasibility study aimed to assess whether VR using HMDs could be used to deliver tailored reminiscence therapy and examine the willingness to participate, response rates to measures, time taken to create tailored content, and technical problems. In addition, this study aimed to explore the immediate effects between verbal fluency and apathy after exposure to VR. Methods A mixed methods study was conducted in a sample of older adults residing in aged care, and 17 participants were recruited. Apathy was measured using the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES), and verbal fluency was used as a proxy measure of improvements in apathy and debriefing interviews to assess feedback from participants. Side effects that can occur from using HMDs were also measured. Results We recruited participants from a high socioeconomic status setting with a high education level, and the participation rate was 85% (17/20); most responses to measures were positive. Access to a wide range of freely available content and the absence of technical difficulties made the delivery of a VR reminiscence intervention highly feasible. Participants had improved semantic scores (t14=−3.27; P=.006) but not phonemic fluency scores (t14=0.55; P=.59) immediately after the intervention. Those with higher levels of apathy demonstrated the greatest cognitive improvements after a VR reminiscence experience, which was indicated by a strong positive relationship between the AES and semantic verbal fluency change scores postminus pre-VR (r=0.719; 95% CI 0.327 to 0.900; P=.003). All participants enjoyed the experience despite 35% (6/17) of participants experiencing temporary side effects. Conclusions This study provides initial evidence that it is feasible to use VR with HMDs for therapy to treat symptoms of apathy in older adults in residential aged care. However, there is a need to closely monitor the side effects of HMD use in older adults. Further research is needed using an active control group to compare the use of VR with traditional forms of reminiscence therapy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Virtual Reality to Improve Apathy in Residential Aged Care: Mixed Methods Study

Saredakis

Keage

Corlis³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

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“…While we have noted the lack of research relating to older adults and social VR, an increasing body of literature has examined how older users might utilise VR systems to support healthy ageing. This work has covered a broad range of interventions including the use of VR as an aid to balance rehabilitation [18]; improving strength and mobility by using VR gaming software [20,41]; using VR as a tool to aid memory function [17,19]; and exploring how VR can be used to address depressive symptoms in older users [6,35]. Roberts and colleagues [32] conducted a qualitative evaluation of an immersive VR system with 41 older residents of a retirement community.…”

Section: Vr and Older Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We can see many opportunities to leverage this type of therapeutic social VR experience. For example, prior work has demonstrated that older adults who self-isolate in aged care settings are attracted to the idea of using VR to escape the confines of their environment [6]. We can envisage a range of AMC in social VR applications that can be used as therapeutic tools to connect older adults to supports beyond the confines of the age care setting so that they may share and support each other to address the many issues that have been shown to negatively impact on older adults in residential care [14,48].…”

Section: Design Reflectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avatar-Mediated Communication in Social VR: An In-depth Exploration of Older Adult Interaction in an Emerging Communication Platform

Baker

Waycott

Carrasco

et al. 2021

Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

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While HCI researchers have begun designing personalised VR experiences for older adults, there has been limited research examining the use of social VR -where users interact via avatars in a virtual environment. Avatar-mediated communication (AMC) is a crucial component of the social VR experience, but older users' experience with AMC is poorly understood. We conducted a five-month study with 16 older adults evaluating a co-designed social VR prototype. Results show that AMC in social VR was seen as medium that supported introverted users to express themselves and was viewed as offering advantages when discussing sensitive topics. Our study provides new insights into how older adults view AMC in social VR as a communication medium and we contribute six design reflections, based on our results, that highlight the steps that can be taken to ensure that AMC in social VR can meet the communication needs of older users.

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“…Providing the ability to interact allows the user to act independently and may improve the sense of presence. Recent research has found that the use of VR providing interaction may be an alternative way of providing stimulation for people with dementia who do not participate in other lifestyle activities (Baker et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Virtual Reality to Improve Apathy in Residential Aged Care: Mixed Methods Study

Saredakis¹,

Keage²,

Corlis³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background and Objectives: Apathy is a common symptom in neurological disorders including dementia and is associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline, reduced quality of life and high carer burden. A lack of effective pharmacological treatments for apathy has placed an emphasis on non-pharmacological interventions. Virtual reality (VR) using head-mounted displays (HMD) has been successfully used in exposure and distraction-based therapies, however, there is limited research in using HMDs for symptoms of neurological disorders. This feasibility study assessed if VR using HMDs could be used to deliver tailored reminiscence therapy. Willingness to participate; response rates to measures; time taken to create tailored content; and technical problems were examined.Methods: A mixed methods study was conducted in a sample of older adults residing in aged care, 17 participants were recruited. Apathy was measured using the Apathy Evaluation Scale, verbal fluency was used as a proxy measure of improvements in apathy and debriefing interviews assessed feedback from participants. Side effects that can occur from using HMDs were also measured. Results: Those with higher levels of apathy demonstrated the greatest cognitive improvements after a VR reminiscence experience. All participants enjoyed the experience despite 35% of participants experiencing temporary side effects.Implications: There is a need to closely monitor side effects from HMD use in older adults. This study provides initial evidence that it is feasible to use VR with HMDs for therapy to treat symptoms of apathy in older adults in residential aged care.

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Evaluating the use of interactive virtual reality technology with older adults living in residential aged care

Cited by 107 publications

References 25 publications

Using Virtual Reality to Improve Apathy in Residential Aged Care: Mixed Methods Study

Using Virtual Reality to Improve Apathy in Residential Aged Care: Mixed Methods Study

Avatar-Mediated Communication in Social VR: An In-depth Exploration of Older Adult Interaction in an Emerging Communication Platform

Using Virtual Reality to Improve Apathy in Residential Aged Care: Mixed Methods Study

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