IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i24p9301-d460972.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Promoting Reminiscences with Virtual Reality Headsets: A Pilot Study with People with Dementia

Author

Listed:
  • Tiago Coelho

    (Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
    Psychosocial Rehabilitation Lab, Center for Rehabilitation Research (CIR), R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
    Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, R. Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal)

  • Cátia Marques

    (Occupational Therapy Course, School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal)

  • Daniela Moreira

    (Occupational Therapy Course, School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal)

  • Maria Soares

    (Occupational Therapy Course, School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal)

  • Paula Portugal

    (Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
    Psychosocial Rehabilitation Lab, Center for Rehabilitation Research (CIR), R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal)

  • António Marques

    (Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
    Psychosocial Rehabilitation Lab, Center for Rehabilitation Research (CIR), R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 400, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal)

  • Ana Rita Ferreira

    (Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, R. Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal)

  • Sónia Martins

    (Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, R. Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
    Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal)

  • Lia Fernandes

    (Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, R. Dr. Plácido da Costa, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
    Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
    Psychiatry Service, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João (CHUSJ), Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal)

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the feasibility and effects of promoting reminiscences, using virtual reality (VR) headsets for viewing 360° videos with personal relevance, with people with dementia. A study with a mixed methods design was conducted with nine older adults diagnosed with dementia. Interventions consisted of four sessions, in which the participants’ engagement, psychological and behavioral symptoms, and simulation sickness symptoms were evaluated. Neuropsychiatric symptomatology and quality of life were measured pre- and post-intervention. Caregivers were interviewed regarding the effect of the approach. In most cases, participants appeared to enjoy the sessions, actively explored the 360° environment, and shared memories associated with the depicted locations, often spontaneously. There were no cases of significant increases in simulator sickness and psychological and behavioral symptoms during sessions, with only some instances of minor eyestrain, fullness of head, anxiety, irritability, and agitation being detected. Although there were no significant changes in the measured outcomes after intervention, the caregivers assessed the experience as potentially beneficial for most participants. In this study, promoting reminiscences with VR headsets was found to be a safe and engaging experience for people with dementia. However, future studies are required to better understand the added value of immersion, using VR, in reminiscence therapy.

Suggested Citation

  • Tiago Coelho & Cátia Marques & Daniela Moreira & Maria Soares & Paula Portugal & António Marques & Ana Rita Ferreira & Sónia Martins & Lia Fernandes, 2020. "Promoting Reminiscences with Virtual Reality Headsets: A Pilot Study with People with Dementia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:24:p:9301-:d:460972
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9301/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9301/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lucas Kupczik & William Farrelly & Shane Wilson, 2022. "Appraising Virtual Technologies’ Impact on Older Citizens’ Mental Health—A Comparative between 360° Video and Virtual Reality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Hongqidi Li & Wenyi Dong & Zhimeng Wang & Nuo Chen & Jianping Wu & Guangxin Wang & Ting Jiang, 2021. "Effect of a Virtual Reality-Based Restorative Environment on the Emotional and Cognitive Recovery of Individuals with Mild-to-Moderate Anxiety and Depression," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-30, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:24:p:9301-:d:460972. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.