Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jul 10, 2020
Date Accepted: Dec 7, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Administering Virtual Reality Therapy to Manage Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms in Patients with Dementia Admitted to an Acute-care Hospital: Results of a Pilot Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
As Virtual Reality (VR) technologies become increasingly accessible and affordable, clinicians are eager to try VR-therapy as a novel means to manage Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) which are exacerbated during acute-care hospitalization, with the goal of reducing the use for antipsychotics, sedatives, and physical restraints, associated with negative side-effects, increased length of stay, and caregiver burden. To date no evaluations of immersive VR-therapy have been reported for patients with dementia in acute-care hospitals.
Objective:
Determine the feasibility (acceptance, comfort, safety) of using immersive VR-therapy for people living with dementia (mild, moderate, and advanced) during acute-care hospitalization, and explore its potential to manage BPSD.
Methods:
A prospective longitudinal pilot-study was conducted at a community teaching hospital in Toronto. Ten patients over 65 years (mean = 87) diagnosed with dementia, participated in one or more sessions of viewing immersive 360° VR-footage of nature scenes displayed on Samsung Gear-VR head-mounted-display. The mixed-methods study included patient chart review, standardized observations during intervention, and pre- and post-intervention semi-structured interviews about the VR experience.
Results:
All recruited participants completed the study. Seven out of ten participants displayed enjoyment or relaxation during a VR session, which averaged 6 minutes per viewing. One participant experienced dizziness; no interference between VR equipment and hearing aids or medical devices was reported.
Conclusions:
It is feasible to expose older adults with various degrees of dementia admitted to an acute-care hospital, to immersive VR-therapy. This pilot provides the basis for conducting the first RCT to evaluate the impact of VR-therapy on managing BPSD in acute-care hospitals. Clinical Trial: Research Ethics Board ID: 748-1806-Mis-321 Clinical Trials.gov registration: NCT03941119
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