Accepted for/Published in: JMIR XR and Spatial Computing (JMXR)
Date Submitted: Mar 6, 2025
Date Accepted: Jun 23, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Virtual Reality Reminiscence Therapy in Dementia Care: A Systematic Review of Research
ABSTRACT
Background:
Dementia is a progressive neurological disorder affecting cognitive and social functioning, posing challenges for patients and caregivers. Traditional medications often have adverse effects, emphasizing the need for non-pharmacological options like Reminiscence Therapy. Virtual Reality has emerged as a promising tool in dementia care, providing immersive experiences that stimulate memory, enhance emotional well-being, and reduce the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.
Objective:
This systematic review evaluates the feasibility, effectiveness, and limitations of Virtual Reality for Reminiscence Therapy in dementia care. It analyzes Virtual Reality's enhancement of therapy outcomes and barriers to adoption.
Methods:
We screened five electronic libraries from 2000 to 2025. The libraries were Google Scholar, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, MEDLINE, and PubMed. Studies were evaluated in terms of feasibility, therapeutic benefits, the type of Virtual Reality system used, and the challenges of implementing Reminiscence Therapy via Virtual Reality in the context of dementia care.
Results:
The findings indicate that Virtual Reality is feasible and well-accepted among people with dementia, fostering high engagement with minimal adverse effects. Fully immersive Virtual Reality systems, which utilize head-mounted displays, are the most frequently used, while semi-immersive alternatives with large screens provide a more cost-effective option. Reminiscence Therapy via Virtual Reality has been shown to improve reminiscence, enhance mood, and encourage social interaction. However, its impact on cognitive function remains inconclusive. Significant barriers to implementation include high costs, limited availability of Virtual Reality infrastructure in care, and the need for specialized caregiver training.
Conclusions:
Reminiscence Therapy via Virtual Reality presents a promising advancement in dementia care. Future research should focus on developing cost-effective, scalable Virtual Reality solutions, designing personalized Virtual Reality experiences tailored to individual needs, and creating structured training programs for caregivers. Longitudinal studies are necessary to determine the long-term therapeutic effects of Virtual Reality compared to traditional Reminiscence Therapy. Clinical Trial: No trial registration; this is a systematic review.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.