Introducing and Familiarising Older Adults Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers to Virtual Reality

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly being applied in dementia care across a range of applications and domains including health and wellbeing. Despite the commercial availability of VR, informants of design are not always aware of its functionality and capabilities, to meaningfully contribute to VR design. In designing VR applications for people living with dementia, it is recommended that older adults living with dementia and their support persons be involved in the design process using participatory approaches, thereby giving them a voice on the design of technology from the outset. A VR technology probe is a useful means of familiarising older adults living with dementia and their informal caregivers with the knowledge and understanding of interactive VR to employ technology that supports them to maintain their social health. This paper charts the implementation and evaluation of a VR technology probe, VR FOUNDations. To explore their experiences, nine older adults living with dementia and their nine informal caregivers trialled VR FOUNDations and completed semi-structured interviews after its use. Overall, older adults living with dementia and their informal caregivers perceived VR FOUNDations to achieve its aim of increasing understanding and inspiring future design decisions. The findings also identified promising positive experiences using a VR technology probe which may be indicative of its applicability to social health and wellbeing domains. This paper advocates for the structured design and implementation of VR technology probes as a pre-requisite to the participatory design of VR applications for the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia. The use of such technology probes may afford older adults living with dementia and their informal caregivers the best opportunity to contribute to design decisions and participate in technology design to support their health and wellbeing.

Nature-Based Virtual Reality Feasibility and Acceptability Pilot for Caregiver Respite

“…They also reported feeling a sense of freedom and being refreshed by the VR nature experience. In a study by Flynn et al (2022) [27], an interactive VR experience involving grasping, picking up and repositioning items was provided to both people with dementia and their CGs. This experience facilitated an engaging and interactive activity and improved the social health and well-being of both the patients and CGs.…”

Unpaid carers of people with dementia and information communication technology: Use, impact and ideas for the future

“…Increasingly, HCI scholars are advocating direct input from people living with dementia and unpaid carers into the design, assessment and distribution of ICT products developed to support their needs and circumstances ( Flynn et al, 2022 ; Hales & Fossey, 2018 ; Hwang et al, 2020 ; Rai et al, 2020 ; Wilson et al, 2024 ). Health and social care policies also emphasise the involvement of people with lived experience, including service users and unpaid carers, to advise and support empirical enquiry and the development of care services ( Department of Health & Social Care, 2021 ; NHS England, 2024 ; Smith et al, 2022 ), including the incorporation of “ IT and assistive technology ” ( Department of Health and Social Care, 2014 , p. 16).…”